Generation Online E Commerce and Networking System for Transforming Scattered Business Operations into Centralized Business Operations

ABSTRACT

A new generation online e-commerce and networking system is disclosed. According to the embodiments of the present invention, by utilizing single-sign-on and interface technologies, the system enables: 1) transforming scattered business application processing capabilities of organizations into centralized processing capabilities for Internet users; and 2) integrating entity processes to meet various entities&#39; operational needs. These are revolutionary technologies to disrupt the traditional isolated business operations and to effectively solve the thorny issue of scattered user data on the Internet, so as to create a favorable digital infrastructure environment or user-data-interconnected Internet fabric for the rapid acceleration of the next generation Internet.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/154,241 filed May 21, 2008, the contentsof which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention

The present art relates to an online e-commerce and networking systemwith subsystems that meet users' work and life needs and entities'operational needs, a creative community model enabling entities to builddeeper and better relationships with users and a revolutionary onlineadvertisement model enabling direct interaction between users andentities through incentives users desire to create large onlinecommunities, so that more effective online advertisements are enabled tocreate a win-win situation for all stakeholders, including individualusers, advertisers, publishers, organizations, and online advertisementnetworks.

2. Description of Related Art

There are several major types of e-commerce websites in the currentmarket. Some websites are hybrids of several types of e-commercewebsites. One common type is an organizational e-commence website,whereby various organizations developed their own e-commerce websites tosell their products and services online. For example, an online bankingwebsite provides its customers a digital way to obtain products andservices via the Internet. For another example, a charity organization'swebsite allows the public to directly donate money via credit card tothe charity organization.

Another common type is an Internet Marketplace. Such websites providecentralized digital places to connect buyers and sellers and providemeans for online transactions. Such websites include eBay.com,Amazon.com, Alibaba.com, etc. Their business model is based on bringingbuyers and sellers together to create a marketplace community, so thatthe website acting as a third party can charge item posting fees,transaction fees, and advertising fees, although the advertising may notbe their main source of revenue generation.

The third common type of e-commerce websites is an Internet AdvertisingWebsite whereby a significant amount of the revenue, if not majority, isderived from online advertising. Such websites include Google.com,Yahoo.com, Youtube.com, Myspace.com, Facebook.com, etc. Their businessmodel is to attract crowds by offering free search engine functions, andfree social networking, entertainment, and communication, so that theycan attract advertisers to advertise on their websites due to theirlarge membership bases. They also generate part of their revenue byoffering fee based products and services.

Based on the history of Internet since its popularity in 1990 s, thecurrent e-commerce websites have evolved from primitive to mature stage.The advantages and benefits of such e-commerce websites are:

They have enabled Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer, andConsumer-to-Consumer online transactions and dramatically improvedtransaction efficiency. The current e-commerce websites quickly connectbuyers and sellers who may never be able to meet in a non-internetenvironment.

They have created a new way of advertising for companies andorganizations to promote their products and services. As a result, theyhave increased sales for some companies.

They have provided social network online environments for people to findfriends, to communicate, to share viewpoints and experiences, and toentertain one another. Thus, they have been able to attract crowds andbuild online communities to facilitate e-commerce activities.

However, the current e-commerce websites are not designed with theobjective of addressing many other types of needs of entities andindividuals, so that even larger online communities can be built toenable more online e-commerce activities. Such needs include but are notlimited to entities' operational needs, and individuals' work and lifeneeds.

Current e-commerce websites are faced with challenges to: 1) improveonline advertisement revenue due to relatively low response rates (e.g.,clicks per thousand impressions) and even lower response rates that leadto successful sales; 2) sustain users' interests on their sites; 3) dealwith criticism of distracting young people from their studies; and 4)attract more online advertisements especially for social networkingsites, whereby advertisers find it difficult to entice social networkingusers to act on their online advertisements.

The Internet is currently in a mature stage, but there is stilltremendous room to grow. After more than a decade of rapid growth, thenext phase of e-commerce websites should be at a more advanced level,whereby they provide advanced functions to meet organizations' variousoperational needs and individuals various work and life needs, and toaim at building deeper and better relationships among advertisers,publishers, organizations, and individual users.

The present invention is based on our identification of such growthtrends to further explore the unprecedented potential of onlinee-commerce and online targeted advertisements, so as to enablee-commerce sites to accelerate by tapping into the tidal wave ofe-commerce.

The prior art online advertisement model is mainly based on aone-directional model: advertisers provide online advertisements topublishers on a fee basis, and the publishers present the advertisementsto general public or targeted audience. In some other cases, advertisersprovide online advertisements to a network advertisement agent, whoassigns those advertisements to various publishers and receives apercentage of the advertisement dollars. The publishers then present theadvertisements to general public or targeted audience.

The present invention of a online advertisement model providesmulti-directional interactions among the these parties, so thatindividual users can request sponsorship directly from advertisers forproducts, services and items they desire on our proposed onlinee-commerce and networking system in exchange for advertisers displayingthe advertisements on users' community pages and their online e-commerceand networking account space. And our proposed online e-commerce andnetworking system provides a centralized platform for an entity topartner with other entities to directly build deeper and betterrelationships with users by attracting users to communities and onlineevents through sponsorships and incentives.

The present invention further enables utilitarian computing, so thatsignificant data related to specific business processes and individualconsumption patterns are collected centrally for analyses. Such analyseshelp to further improve the entire business model and to provide moreeffective online advertisements to targeted audience. The presentinvention will contribute to significantly enhanced efficiency in oursociety, and will make people's life easier by taking care of their workand life needs.

Prior arts related to e-commerce or social networking websites include:a system and method to influence a position for search listing; e-stampfor customized advertisements; automated book marking of onlineadvertisements; generation of advertisement information; enablingadvertiser to create advertisement templates; sale of onlineadvertisements; method for operating an online social network; providingadvertisement contents based on categories of search results; pricing ofonline advertisements; processing electronic receipts through a smartreceipt application, etc.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,363,300 discloses a system and method forenabling information providers using a computer network to influence aposition for search listing within a search result list.

US Patent Application No. 20010025254 discloses an electronic stampproviding system to deliver customized online advertisements to anelectronic mail receiver upon recipient choices to view the customizedonline ads by clicking electronic stamps attached in emails received.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,486,891 discloses a method of facilitating the automatedbookmarking of a web page associated with an online advertisement,whereby the advertisement causes a web page associated with theadvertisement to be bookmarked in the user's browser.

US Patent Application No. 20050065806 discloses online information (suchas advertiser web pages in conjunction with products lists, web content,existing online ads, etc), or an electronic version of offlineadvertisement information that is used to generate online advertisementinformation, such as a landing page, targeting information, and/or adcreative information.

US Patent Application No. 20070233566 discloses a system and method forfacilitating cooperative search engine marketing among business entitiesand their respective channel partners, whereby such business entitiescan create and distribute approved advertisements and campaigntemplates, allocate and track the usage of market development funds,monitor the results of sponsored search advertising campaigns, andstreamline the reimbursement process for market development funds.

US Patent Application No. 20080077595 discloses a method for operating awebsite for an online social networking includes the steps of receivinga group picture containing a plurality of individuals, receivingidentification information regarding the individuals in the grouppicture, displaying the group picture, and selectively displaying labelsfor the individuals after the individuals confirm that they have beencorrectly identified.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,147 discloses systems and methods for facilitatingthe sale of classified ad items, whereby a linkage is created between aprint advertisement and an online counterpart, and that consumers areencouraged to view and/or purchase online an item for sale in the printclassified ad.

US Patent Application No. 20080103894 discloses a method and process forproviding a merit-based incentive points system for amateur sports andcompetitive and non-competitive events wherein merit points arepurchased from points administrator and distributed by event organizersand sponsors as participation and performance awards to contestants andparticipants. Such merit points functioning as points currency of value,can be accrued, traded, exchanged, and redeemed for scholarships, goodsand services.

US Patent Application No. 20080015935 discloses a method for managementof a resource by a community of participants comprising: (a) definingindividual tasks necessary for managing the resource; (b) allocating aquantum of redeemable reward points to each defined task; (c) definingparticipants within the community to execute tasks for reward points;(d) selecting rewards which may be redeemed by surrendering rewardpoints earned by participants and allocation of values to each rewardexpressed in reward points; (e) providing an information system whichenables participants to view and claim available rewards; and (f)providing an information system which keeps track of tasks, points andrewards associated with participants.

US Patent Application No. 20080082416 discloses a domain that hosts ageneral e-commerce marketplace establishes multiple sub-domains to hostniche electronic marketplaces, wherein these niche sub-domain sites arebuilt around a concept and offer for sale items that relevant to thatconcept, the sub-domain sites are operated by communities ofindividuals, and each community is responsible for determining manyfacets of the consumer experience at the sub-domain site.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,757,661 discloses an ad server and local device thatinterface for selecting advertisements to be viewed by users of anonline service based upon user activity.

US Patent Application No. 20070100801 discloses a method for providingadvertising content for display in a page over a network, whereby theadvertising content is displayed based on a category assigned to theadvertising content and the category correlating to a given search maybe based on the search results that may be associated with one or morecategories and the category associated with the highest count of searchresults is the category for that search.

US Patent Application No. 20020073034 discloses a system and method forpricing a classified advertisement whereby the method includes receivinga classified advertisement from an advertiser to be distributed to atleast one of multiple device types and a price may be determined andisplayed for the classified advertisement as formatted for presentationby the device type(s).

US Patent Application No. 20050033668 discloses a method and apparatusfor allowing a vendor to: create, maintain, validate, submit, review,and print all of its invoices, such as for example air, armored, ground,and automated teller machine (ATM) fault servicing, on a secure networkis provided, wherein GUI screens are provided for inputting invoices,making invoice preparation as simple and as efficient as possible.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,598 discloses a method, program, and system forprocessing electronic receipts within a computer network that comprisescreating a customer profile for a user using a Smart Receiptapplication, whereby electronic receipts (smart receipts) are sent fromthe point of sale to a designated database when the user purchasesitems, and a smart receipt object is initiated which retrieves thespecified electronic receipt from the appropriate database according tothe user's search parameters when he wants a copy of a receipt.

US Patent Application No. 20030120607 discloses a system and method forcreating and verifying e-receipts whereby the system and method allowconsumers and merchants to perform e-transactions using a securee-receipt system that includes programmable information tags such asRadio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

US Patent Application No. 20080097844 discloses handling electroniccoupons by accessing information indicating association of an electroniccoupon with an account of a user that identifies multiple retailentities associated with the user, whereby the computer systems mayassociate electronic coupons with the user such that the user may redeemthe electronic coupons at a retail store upon presentation of a useridentifier, and the systems may prevent the user from redeeming theelectronic coupon at a retail store associated with the correspondingretail entity.

None of the prior arts provide a centralized location to meetindividuals' wide variety of needs and to integrate entity operationprocesses. None of the prior arts enable entities to directly involve incommunity building and event hosting to foster deeper and betterrelationships with users. And none of the prior arts allow individualsand entities to become publishers of online advertisements in exchangeto obtain incentive rewards through requesting sponsorship.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1. Brief Summary

The purpose of the present invention is to create large onlinecommunities by meeting individuals' work and life needs and entities'operational needs, so as to enable more online e-commerce activities,improve the revenue creation of online advertisements and online sales,and transform current e-commerce web sites into advanced e-commerce andnetworking web sites.

An objective of the present invention is to provide an online e-commerceand networking system, called HotTerrain.com, that houses differentonline applications and programs to draw crowds by: 1) offering uniqueonline services that meet individuals' work and life needs and entities'operational needs; and 2) offering incentive rewards that are linked totargeted marketing and online advertisements.

One embodiment of the present invention of HotTerrain.com includes butis not limited to: 1) a virtual email system with letter e-templates,e-envelopes, e-stamps, e-stickers sponsored by participatingorganizations or individuals; 2) a “My Assets” place containing users'virtual and real items in an organized manner and allows users tosolicit and request sponsorship; 3) a community or group applicationthat allows a user to share personal information and viewpoints withselected members and participate in online events; 4) an incentive plancalled “HotTerrain (HT) Money” for participants to manage accumulatedpoints; 5) a gift application for users to obtain physical and/ordigital items via sponsorship; 6) an online consumer-to-consumermarketplace with virtual locations and simulations sponsored byparticipating organizations or individuals; 7) an onlinebusiness-to-consumer marketplace with virtual locations and simulationssponsored by participating organizations; 8) a sponsor application forusers and organizations to search, solicit or request sponsorships; 9) adeveloper application for developers to create applications and designsand to solicit or request sponsorships; 10) an area of links to onlinee-commerce and networking system's other applications that may besupported by partnering firms; and 11) an area of links to varioussister websites that provide certain free services and products tofurther meet users' work and life needs and organizations' operation orprocess needs.

The virtual email system is a unique email system that has the option ofpresenting an email in a virtual mail view, so that the email is firstpresented inside a virtual envelope displaying sender and recipientstreet addresses, e-stamp and e-sticker (e-sticker is optional), andwhen opened, the email is presented within a letter e-template selectedby the sender with unique design and e-sticker (optional). The virtualemail system also presents an email in virtual postcard view upon a userselecting an e-card template.

The “My Assets” is an application within the online e-commerce andnetworking system to house and manage users' virtual and real items inan organized manner and allows users to solicit and request sponsorship.Items in “My Assets” are of great interest to users, such as stamps,photos, videos, treasure, properties, cars, and other assets.

The community or group application allows a user to share his profileinformation, his “My Assets” information, his viewpoints and storieswith his communities or selected members, and to interact with oneanother. It allows the user to set up a “Wish List” and to solicit orrequest sponsorship from community members. It also enables the user toparticipate in online events, including but not limited to virtualbirthday parties, contests and games. The community or group applicationalso allows entities, especially businesses, to build a deeper andbetter relationship with users by providing contests (e.g., sciencecontests, singing contests, dancing contests, etc.) and learning gamesfor users to improve their knowledge and skills.

The “HT Money” application enables participants to manage accumulatedpoints from various sources, obtain various reports, obtain more HTmoney, bank HT money and borrow HT money.

The gift application allows users to obtain physical and/or digitalitems for themselves and for others in several ways, includingsoliciting and requesting sponsorship.

The online consumer-to-consumer marketplace allows users to buy and sellreal and/or digital merchandise via different selling techniques, tosolicit or request sponsorship, and to participate in virtualenvironments to buy and sell.

The online business-to-consumer marketplace allows users to buy realand/or digital merchandise from organizations via different sellingtechniques, to solicit or request sponsorship, and to participate invirtual environments to buy real and/or virtual merchandise. Thismarketplace called “HT Mall” also enables entity-to-consumer e-commerceactivities, wherein entities include charity, education, government andother organizations. HT Mall's entity accounts also allowsorganization-to-organization e-commerce activities.

The sponsor application allows users and organizations to search,solicit or request sponsorships, book favorite sponsors, and viewsponsorship history and related reports.

The developer application enables developers to create applications anddesigns, to solicit or request sponsorships to promote theirdevelopments, and to view and print various reports.

The application links to the online networking system's otherapplications include but are not limited to accounting, inventory,payroll, tax, that may be supported by partnering firms.

The sister web links provide certain free services and products, such asan online expense system, an online administration system, and an onlineoffice applications system to further meet users' work and life needsand organizations' operational needs.

2. Advertisement Model

Another embodiment of the present invention related to onlineadvertisements include but are not limited to MarketAds, MallAds,SponsorAds, EventAds, PartnerAds, and ChannelAds.

MarketAds may be posted by an individual for free on HotTerrain Marketand the individual is only charged a fee based on the final sale price.The individual does not pay if his item does not sell. The individualcan provide incentive to the buyer, such as offering HT money. MarketAdsmay be associated with expiration time so that the individual needs tore-post it after expiration.

MallAds are used by companies to advertise their products and servicesto individuals accessing the HotTerrain Mall. Advertisers can provideincentives to buyers to promote sales. Advertisers are charged a postingfee each time they post and commission fees for successful sales.HotTerrain has the option of offering a percentage of the fee income toadvertisers' buyers to help promoting sales. MallAds with incentives canbe converted into SponsorAds to be displayed within and outside theonline e-commerce and networking system. MallAds are associated withexpiration time so that fees must be paid for renewal after expiration.

SponsorAds can be solicited or requested by users to assist theirvarious activities in HotTerrain. Once a sponsorship is obtained, theassociated sponsor advertisement is displayed in the user's HotTerrainspace and communities. The sponsorship requests are evaluatedautomatically based on the user's HotTerrain Score (HT Score). The usercan request sponsorship to obtain free HT money, to obtain discounts,gift certificates, and others rewards from participating advertiserswhen the user purchases or obtains items, or using certain functions inHotTerrain. SponsorAds are associated with expiration time so that feesmust be paid for renewal after expiration.

The user's HT score may be calculated based on key factors, includingbut not limited to user membership level (e.g., platinum, gold, orsilver), size of the user's communities, available advertisement spacein the user's community web pages, available advertisement space in theuser's HT space, level of activeness, and level of prior purchasingactivities.

EventAds allows advertisers to display or play their onlineadvertisements during the course of events that occur within HotTerrain.Such events include but are not limited to virtual birthday parties,graduation parties, science competitions, entertainment competitions, IQtests, EQ tests, personality tests, and games. EventAds include text,graphic, sound, and/or video advertisements that can be played duringthe course of virtual events and they may be associated with expirationtime so that fees must be paid to renew the EventAds.

PartnerAds allow other companies, online advertisement agents, andonline advertisement networks to place HotTerrain advertisements ontheir websites, so that they receive a percentage of the advertisementfee generated from those advertisements from HotTerrain.

ChannelAds enable other publishers, online advertisement agents, andonline advertisement network to supply HotTerrain their advertisementsthat meet HotTerrain's advertisement criteria. Such entities alsoreceive a percentage of the advertisement fee generated from thoseadvertisements from HotTerrain.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a web server system in which thepresent system, method and program may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary illustration of the e-commerce and networkingsystem (HotTerrain.com) user logon interface.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary illustration of a user's home page of hisHotTerrain account.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary illustration of Virtual Mail Folder View that canbe presented to a user.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary illustration of Virtual Mail Envelope View thatcan be presented to the user.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary illustration of Virtual Mail Letter View that canbe presented to the user.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary illustration of Virtual Mail Inbox View that canbe presented to the user.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary illustration depicting how to create a virtualmail.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary illustration depicting how to select a lettertemplate category for a virtual mail.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary illustration depicting how to select a specificletter template and matching envelope, stamp, and sticker.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary illustration depicting the automaticdistribution of e-stamps that a user selected into respective stampfolder that can be presented to the user under “My Assets”.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary illustration depicting stamp album view and whatthe user can do with his stamp albums.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary illustration of a stamp album inside view andwhat the user can do with his stamp album and stamps inside.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary illustration of the user's treasure under “MyAssets” that can be presented to the user.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary illustration of the contents inside a selectedtreasure holder and what the user can do with them.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary illustration of the contents inside “Others”category of the user's “My Assets” and how he can create new categoryassets inside “Others”.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary illustration of the contents inside “Properties”sub-category and how the user can do with them.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary illustration of the user's “My Groups” communitywebpage that can be presented to him and the features provided thereof.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary illustration of an entity's “Events” webpage andthe features provided thereof.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary illustration of the user's “My HT Money” summeryreport that can be presented to him and what he can do with his HTMoney.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary illustration of “HT Market” that the user canbuy stuff and request sponsorship.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary illustration of the user selling his stuff in“HT Market”, requesting sponsorship, and inviting buyers to a virtualnegotiation.

FIG. 23 is an exemplary illustration of the user buying products orservices in “HT Mall” and how he can request sponsorship.

FIG. 24 is an exemplary illustration of “Sponsors” webpage that can bepresented to the user and what he can do within the page.

FIG. 25 is an exemplary illustration of “Developer” webpage that can bepresented to the user and what he can do within the page.

FIG. 26 is an exemplary illustration of sister website “NeatExpense” andwhat the user can do with his e-receipts.

FIG. 27 is an exemplary illustration of creating an e-receipt andaccepting HT money for product payment.

FIG. 28 is an exemplary illustration of sister website “NeatClerk” andhow a bank branch can utilize the e-log for recoding its night depositbox transactions.

FIG. 29 is an exemplary illustration of sister website “SmartOffice” andhow the workflows of documents are tracked and analyzed to reportwhite-collar workers' productivity and related issues.

FIG. 30 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem assigns sponsorship and SponsorAds based on a user'ssolicitation.

FIG. 31 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem enables a user to renew recurring sponsorship and SponsorAd.

FIG. 32 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how toenable a user to request specific sponsorship and SponsorAd.

FIG. 33 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem lists sponsorship and SponsorAd according to the bidding price.

FIG. 34 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem assigns sponsorship and SponsorAd upon a entity's solicitation.

FIG. 35 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem matches incentive key word(s) to SponsorAds.

FIG. 36 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem collects CPC and CPM data, generates and distributes the relatedreports.

FIG. 37 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem luck-draws a low bidding SponsorAds for display during a pre-settime frame.

FIG. 38 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting how thesystem response when a user clicks a SponsorAd outside of HotTerrainsystem.

FIG. 39 is an exemplary illustration of a flow diagram depicting theprocess of issuing a physical item identification mark when a userclicks a HT physical item image to obtain the physical item.

FIG. 40 is a diagram depicting exemplary calculations of two usersHotTerrain Scores.

FIG. 41 is a diagram depicting exemplary calculations of advertisers'real Return of Investment (ROI) based on sales generated from the onlineadvertisements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, various aspects of the present inventionwill be described. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the present invention may be practiced with only some or allaspects of the present invention. For purposes of explanation, specificnumbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will alsobe apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without the specific details. In other instances, well-knownfeatures are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the presentinvention.

Parts of the description will be presented in terms of operationsperformed by a processor based device, using terms such as data, tables,requesting, selecting, supplementing, displaying, and the like,consistent with the manner commonly employed by those skilled in the artto convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Aswell understood by those skilled in the art, the quantities take theform of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of beingstored, transferred, combined, and otherwise manipulated throughmechanical and electrical components of the processor based device; andthe term processor includes microprocessors, micro-controllers, digitalsignal processors, and the like, that are standalone, adjunct orembedded.

Various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps in turn,in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention;however, the order of description should not be construed as to implythat these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular,these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.Further, the description repeatedly uses the phrase “in one embodiment”,which ordinarily does not refer to the same embodiment, although it may.

Other features of the illustrated embodiments will be apparent to thereader from the foregoing and the appended claims, and as the detaileddescription and discussion in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

While the invention is described and illustrated here in the context ofa limited number of embodiments, the invention may be embodied in manyforms without departing from the spirit of the essential characteristicsof the invention. The illustrated and described embodiments, includingwhat is described in the abstract of the disclosure document, aretherefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appendedclaims rather than by the forgoing description, and all changes, whichcome within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims areintended to be embraced therein.

Now referring to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1 that depictsone embodiment of a web platform system through which the presentmethod, system, and program may be implemented.

Web Server System 100 includes Random Access Memory (RAM) 101 and ReadOnly Memory (ROM) 110, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 111, and a systemBus 112 or other communication device for communicating informationwithin Web Server System 100. A number of program modules may be storedin mass storage device 113 and RAM 101, said RAM 101 includes anOperating System 102, web e-commerce and networking system (e.g., calledHotTerrain) 103, as well as Sister Web Applications 104. HotTerraine-commerce and networking system 103 includes HotTerrain (HT)Advertisement Modules 105, HT Money Module 106, Virtual Mail Module 107,My Assets Modules 108, and Other Modules 109, which include but are notlimited to Community/Group Module, Gift Module, HT Market Module, HTMall Module, Sponsor Module, Developer Module and others.

The Sister Web Applications 104 is depicted as external programs of theweb platform system HotTerrain 103, but one should understand that someof the applications, if not all, could also be internal modules of theHotTerrain web applications system. These sister web applications can beactivated by links placed within the HotTerrain web applications system103.

CPU 111 may be a general-purpose processor that, during normaloperation, processes data under the control of the operating system andapplication software accessible from a dynamic storage device, RAM 101,and a static storage device, ROM 110.

Bus 112 preferably includes low latency and high latency paths that areconnected by bridges and adapters and controlled within computer system100 by multiple bus controllers.

The present invention may be provided on a machine-readable medium thatincludes any medium that participates in providing instructions toCentral Processing Unit 111 or other components of web server system 100for execution.

A machine-readable medium may take any form including, but not limitedto, volatile media, transmission media, and non-volatile media. Volatilemedia include dynamic memory such as RAM 101. Transmission media includecoaxial cables, copper wire or fiber optics, including the wires thatcomprise Bus 112.

The web server system 100 further includes Mass Storage Device 113 andCommunication Interfaces 114. Mass Storage Device 113 is an example of anon-volatile medium, which is depicted as an internal component of webserver system 100, but one should understand that it could also be anexternal device.

Communication interfaces 114 provide two-way data communicationsconnected to communication Link 120 that may be connected, for example,to a Network 121, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network(WAN), World Wide Web, or directly to an Internet Service Provider(ISP). In particular, Communication Link 120 may provide wired and/orwireless network communication to the Internet, or one or more networks.

In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the webserver system 100, or portions thereof, may be stored and transferredfrom a Remote Server 122. Data from web server system 100 may be storedor tracked on such a Remote Server 122 and there can be more than onesuch server. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that thenetwork connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishinga communication link between the computers may be used.

The web server system 100 further includes multiple peripheralcomponents that facilitate communication. These peripheral componentsare connected to multiple controllers, adaptors, and extension slotsthat are connected to one of the multiple levels of Bus 112. In thisexemplary diagram, a Display Device 115 is connectively enabled on Bus112 for providing visual, tactile or other graphical representationformats. A mouse 118 is connectively enabled on Bus 112 for controllingthe location of a pointer within Display Device 115. A Keyboard 116 isconnectively enabled on Bus 112 as an interface for user inputs tocomputer system 100. The keyboard can be any type, such as dome-switchkeyboard, capacitive keyboard, buckling-spring keyboard, laser keyboard,membrane keyboard, etc. An Audio Device 117 is connectively enabled onBus 112 for controlling audio inputs and outputs. A Handheld Device 119is connectively enabled on Bus 112 for controlling data exchange. Suchhandheld devices may include PDAs, cell phones or blackberries, etc. Inalternative embodiments of the present invention, additional input andoutput peripheral components may be added.

Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, gamepad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. In addition to the DisplayDevice 115, computers typically include other peripheral output devices(not shown), such as speakers, printers, or the like.

The web server system 100 may operate in a networked environment usingconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a Remote Computer123. The Remote Computer 123 may be a user computer that comprises a webbrowser 125, a router, a peer device or other common network node. Theweb server system 100 may also operate in a networked environment usingconnections to one or more handheld devices, such as a Handheld Device124 that comprises a web browser 126. The handheld device may includeuser PDAs, cell phones or blackberries, etc.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted inFIG. 1 may vary. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the depicted example is not meant to imply architecturallimitations with respect to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 therein is presented an exemplary user logoninterface of the e-commerce and networking system (e.g., calledHotTerrain) according to the present invention. As represented in FIG.2, the user logon interface 200 includes but is not limited to an areafor search 201, an area displaying different categories of marketplaceitems 202, an area for individual user logon 203, an area of logon linksfor entities 204, and an area providing benefits information of usingHotTerrain 205.

Search Program 201 contains a search text box for a user to input searchkey word(s), a dropdown menu for user to select a specific searchcategory, a search activation button “Go”, and an Advanced Search link.Once the user click the dropdown menu arrow

(when clicked, it would turn the pointer down ▾ to show menu options),he is presented with a list of different categories, including but notlimited to All Categories, Antiques, Apparel, Art, Baby, Beauty, Books,Business & Industry, Cameras & Photo, and incentive key words (seedetails in FIG. 24 below), etc. The search result will list itemsmatching the user's search term from Groups, HotTerrain (HT) Market, HTMall and Sponsors (see more details about Groups, HT Market, HT Mall andSponsors in FIGS. 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, and 24 below).

Categories area 202 displays different categories for a user to select.The user can scroll up and down the list to locate the right category.Subcategories can be presented once a user selects a category, so thathe can narrow down to the specific item he is looking for.

User logon area 203 allows a user to enter a user ID (in this exemplarycase, it's the user's email address) and password to log on. It alsocomprises registration for a user to register a new HotTerrain accountfor free.

Log-on links area 204 provides shortcuts for entities to logon to theirHotTerrain accounts. For example, A person from a business can click thebusiness link to go to business logon page to access his businessaccount, whereby he can post products/services on HT Mall, entersponsorship relationships with other businesses, solicit sponsorshipfrom other businesses for his buyers, use HotTerrain and Sister Websitesfunctions, and other functions. HotTerrain also enables charityorganizations to post and sell online products and provides an easy wayfor them to collect donations.

HotTerrain benefits area 205 lists key benefits a user can obtain whenbecoming a member. It also enables the user to find his friends onHotTerrain. For other entity logon screens, a similar area 205 isdisplayed listing specific key benefits to the entity. For example, acompany can use HotTerrain to quickly sell its products by participatingin SponsorAd, use various functions to enhance promotional results andROI, build deeper and better relationships with consumers, earnadvertisement dollars by partnering with HotTerrain, and so on.

With reference now to FIG. 3, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of a user's home page of his HotTerrain account accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. For simplicity sake, onlykey areas are shown on display 300. On the left hand panel of thedisplay 300, a list/menu of Services 301 that are available inHotTerrain is displayed. Such services includes but are not limited toVirtual Mail, My Assets, Groups, My HT Money, Gifts, HT Market, HT Mall,Sponsors, Developer, HotTerrainSoft, and Sister Webs as shown in 301. Auser can click the dropdown menu arrow

(when clicked, it would turn the pointer down ▾ to show menu options)that is attached to the applicable services to see the sub-categories ofservices.

The display 300 also contains the home page contents 302 that can bepresented to the user. Such contents include but are not limited to theuser's HT Money, HT Score, Value of My Total Assets, Rating of MyWealth, Favorite Sponsors, Amount from Sponsors, Keep an Eye, VirtualMail and Collector Stamps, Some Largest Communities on HotTerrain,Popular Groups in the user's geographic area, News, etc. Theadvertisement area 303 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Now, referring to FIG. 4, therein is presented an exemplary illustrationof Virtual Mail Folder View user interface 400. When a user clicks theVirtual Mail dropdown button in 304 of FIG. 3 and then selects FolderView 401 on left panel of user interface 400, the system displaysvirtual mail folders in display window 402 according to default settingsor the user's pre-established settings, such as showing only the newmails in each folder and sorting mails into different folders by senderemail address. The user can change the pre-established settings byselecting from the dropdown menu arrow

(when clicked, it would turn the pointer down ▾ to show menu options) of“Show” and “Sort By” in display area 402. Virtual Mails can also becontained in one folder, such as “All Vmail Folder”. The advertisementarea 403 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Referring to FIG. 5 therein is presented an exemplary illustration ofVirtual Mail Envelop View 500 that can be displayed to a user. Asindicated, the user interface 500 comprises a display area 502 inresponse to a user clicking “Envelope View” 501 on the left panel ofuser interface 500. Display 502 can also be presented to a user when heclicks the selected virtual mail folder in 402 of FIG. 4 (in thisexample, virtual mail folder from Joe Blowe). As shown, two virtualenvelopes containing new emails from Joe Blowe are displayed in 502along with related information shown below the envelopes, such as Date &Time, From, To, CC, Subject, Status, etc. Since both the sender andrecipient are HotTerrain members, their physical address information isautomatically inserted on the envelope. If the user did not input hisaddress information when registering, he can simply click “Edit” button503 to add the addresses on the envelope and the system automaticallyupdates his address in his address book. Also, addresses can beautomatically inserted to the user's pre-selected address stickers.

The user can select one or multiple envelopes in 502, and click“Envelope Back View” button 504 to see the back of the envelopes thatmay contain special or graphical designs or stickers. Other tasks theuser can perform includes but are not limited to click “Cut Stamp”button 505 to cut selected stamps that are automatically sent to hisstamp folder under “My Assets” (see details in FIG. 11), click “CutSticker” button 506 to cut selected stickers that are automatically sentto his sticker folder under “My Assets”, and click “View Stamps &Stickers” button 507 to see enlarged pictures of stamps and stickers andrelated information. The advertisement area 509 is elaborated in FIG. 33and FIG. 40 below.

Also, the user can click “e-card View” (not shown) and flip an e-card(s)to see the designs and messages on its back, and “Cut” its e-stamps ore-stickers (not shown) to have them automatically sent to a stamp folderor a sticker folder in the user's “My Assets”.

With reference now to FIG. 6, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of Virtual Mail Letter View user interface 600 in responseto user clicking “Letter View” button 508 of FIG. 5 or to user clickingthe selected envelope image in 502 of FIG. 5. As indicated in 601, theemail is presented to the user in a letter format, which may have atemplate design. User can choose function buttons (not shown) to reply,forward, print, or delete the letter email. The advertisement area 602is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Now, referring to FIG. 7, therein is presented an exemplary illustrationof Virtual Mail Inbox View user interface 700. As indicated, when theuser clicks “Inbox” in 701, an inbox display of the virtual mails ispresented to the user in 702. The “Stamps” and “Sticker” columns of 702indicate their status. For example, whether the virtual mail's stamp isalready cut or new, a mark (e.g., *) indicating if this a collectorstamp or collector sticker, and whether there is a sticker(s) associatedwith the email, so that the user can make quick decisions to cut thecollector stamps and stickers or ignore virtual mails with standardstamps and stickers that have no collector value.

The user can select multiple emails in the Inbox to cut their e-Stampsand/or e-Stickers, which are automatically sent to the user's Stamp andSticker folders in his “My Assets”. The user can select an email andclick “Reply” dropdown button 704 to reply to all or just to the sender,or click “Forward” button 705 to forward the email to someone else. Theuser can also select multiple emails and click “Print” button 706 toprint all selected emails at one time, or click “Delete” button 708 todeleted selected emails at one time. The user can also click the“Compose” button 707 to create a new email. The advertisement area 709is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Referring to FIG. 8, therein is presented an exemplary illustrationdepicting how to create a virtual mail. The display 800 of HotTerrainuser interface contains “Compose” button 801, of which, once clicked,triggers the display area of 802 for a user to input recipient emailaddress, subject, and etc., and compose his email in the email body aswhat he normally does in an email system. He then has the options ofselecting a letter template, envelope, stamp, and sticker (optional)available in HotTerrain virtual mail system for his email by clicking“Select Letter Template” button 803, “Select Envelop” button 804,“Select Stamp” button 805, “Select Sticker” button 806. He can save thedraft of his email by clicking “Save” button 807. If he does not selectany template, envelope, stamp and sticker (optional), the system willassign a standard template, envelope and stamp to his email when heclicks “Send” button 808. The advertisement area 809 is elaborated inFIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary illustration depicting how to select a lettertemplate category for a virtual mail when the user clicks dropdown menuarrow

of 803 to select a letter template in FIG. 8. As indicated, the actionleads to the display of 900, which contains an area for Letter TemplateCategories 901. In this exemplary case, the user selects the category of“Flowers” 903. The display area 901 may also contain instructions ortutorial video 902 about the easy steps to use virtual mail, includinghow to select letter template, envelope, stamp and sticker. Theadvertisement area 904 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary illustration depicting how to select a specificletter template and matching envelope, stamp, and sticker (optional). Asindicated, a user interface 1000 is presented to the user that containsdisplay area of 1001 to display different designs of the template thatthe user selects. In this exemplary case, the user selects “Roses” 1002and there are 8 designs displayed in 1001 for the user to select. Theuser can simply tick “Matching Envelope”, “Matching Stamp”, and“Matching Sticker” (optional) on top of display 1001 to have the systemautomatically assign the same design of envelope, stamp and sticker(optional) to his email. Or if he doesn't want matching envelope, stamp,and sticker, he has the option of picking different ones by clicking“Select Envelope” button 1003, “Select Stamp” button 1004, or “SelectSticker” button 1005. Once selected, the user can preview and save hisvirtual mail by pressing “Preview and Save” button 1006, and makemodification as necessary.

The display of his virtual mail after he presses “Preview and Save”button 1006 is similar to the display of “Envelope View” and “LetterView” illustrated FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, respectively. Once he is satisfied,he can press “Preview and Send” button 1007 to send out his virtualmail. The sender can request the recipient to send back his stamp if heis a stamp collector. Special marks can be inserted to the “Used”e-stamps to differentiate them from the “Unused” ones. “Used” e-stampsare those that go through delivery process of virtual mails to reachrecipients' mailbox. “Unused” e-stamps are those new e-stamps acquiredby the user by have not been attached to virtual emails and sent torecipients.

Virtual Mail system will be very appealing to people who can use it tocompose creative letters, love letters, fun letters, etc., and at thesame time, collecting e-stamps, e-stickers and corresponding physicalstamps and stickers. It can also be used by people to create formalletters for job interviews, newsletters, and office memos, etc.Companies can also send virtual emails with collector stamps to atargeted audience for product promotion to avoid the common scenariothat users ignore or delete promotional emails sent from existing emailsystems without opening. The advertisement area 1008 is elaborated inFIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Now, referring to FIG. 11, therein is presented an exemplaryillustration depicting the automatic distribution of e-stamps that theuser selected into respective stamp folders under his “My Assets”. Asindicated in display 1100, once the user selects “Stamps” 1101 under “MyAssets” application, the system displays his stamps folders in displayarea 1102. Stamps that he cuts previously are automatically distributedinside respective folders. The system also allows the user to drag anddrop stamps from one folder to another.

Within display 1102, the user can select each stamp folder and turn itinto a stamp album by pressing “Stamp Album Template” button 1103 toselect the stamp album. The user can preview the selected stamp album bypressing “Preview Stamp Album” button 1104 and make necessary changes ifhe does not like the design. When he is satisfied, he simply presses“Save Stamp Album” button 1105 to save the stamp album. The user isallowed to create customized stamp folders and to send his “cut” stampsto those folders. He can create such folders by pressing “Add” button1106. The user can also delete a stamp folder by pressing “Delete”button 1107.

Other activities the user can perform include posting stamps for sale byselecting a stamp folder and pressing “Post Stamps for Sale” button1108. His stamp folder containing stamps that he wants to sell will beposted onto HT Market. The user can also solicit sponsorship for postingstamps for sale to benefit the buyer, so that his sale is more appealingto the buyer. To solicit sponsorship, he simply needs to press “SolicitSponsorship” button 1112. Here the user has options to solicit fromdifferent groups of sponsors (e.g., all sponsors, my favorite sponsors,or my friends) by click the dropdown menu arrow

(when clicked, it would turn the pointer down ▾ to show menu options).Once a group of sponsors is selected and the user selects sponsorshipcriteria, the system automatically assigns sponsorship if the userqualifies.

The user can also select the option of “Request Sponsorship” from thedropdown menu (not shown) to request specific sponsorship. Once “RequestSponsorship” is selected, a list of sponsors appears for the user toselect a specific sponsor for sponsorship. A search function may also beprovided for the user to find specific sponsor(s). The functions of“Solicit Sponsorship” buttons in FIG. 12 to FIG. 15, FIG. 17, FIG. 19,FIG. 23, FIG. 24 to FIG. 27 are similar to those of button 1112 of FIG.11.

The user can also post stamps for donation by selecting a stamp folderand pressing “Post Stamps for Donation” button 1109. The system willprompt him to select if he wants to donate to a person, a charityorganization or to a donation pool. If he picks donate to a friend(e.g., the friend's HotTerrain address), the stamp folder he selectedwill disappear from his account and appear on his friend's My Assetswithin HotTerrain with notification of the donation. If he picks acharity organization, similarly, the stamp folder will be sent to thecharity organization's My Assets within HotTerrain Charity account withnotification of the donation. If he picks donation pool, the stampfolder is added to a list of donated items for interested individuals orentities to obtain.

Other features include but not limited to the user selecting a stampfolder and pressing “Print Stamps” button 1110 to print all the e-stampsinside the folder at the same time, and pressing “Buy Stamps” button1111 to buy both electronic and physical stamps. Again, the user cansolicit sponsorship for buying stamps from sponsors by pressing “SolicitSponsorship” button 1112. The advertisement area 1113 is elaborated inFIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

With reference now to FIG. 12, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of stamp album view and what the user can do with his stampalbums. As indicated, the user interface 1200 contains a display area1201 that presents stamp albums the user selected for his stamp folders.The user can click “Change Stamp Album Template” button 1202 to changethe album template to another design. Once changed, the user can press“Preview Changed Stamp Album” button 1203 to preview the new album andpress “Save Changed Stamp Album” button 1204 to save it. The user canalso create a new stamp album by pressing “Add Album” button 1205, anddelete any album by selecting it and pressing “Delete Album” button1206. The user can also highlight the album in display 1201 and press“Delete” key on his keyboard to delete the album.

Other functions that the user can perform include but not limited toprinting a selected album, buying a certified physical album, andposting selected album for sale or donation. To print a selected album,the user simply selects the album he wants to print, and presses “PrintSelected Album” button 1207. The user may be presented with the optionsto print the stamps or empty album (with no stamps), or print both. Acertified physical album means that it bears identification mark(s) toindicate the authenticity of the user's stamp album to facilitate thetransfer, be it sale or donation of the physical album. To buy thecertified physical album, the user simply selects the stamp album thathe wants to buy the physical copy and presses “Buy Certified PhysicalAlbum” button 1208. The user may be presented with the options of buyingcertified physical stamps, certified empty album, or both.

To sell or donate his album(s), the user just needs to select thealbum(s) and press “Post Selected Album for Sale or Donation” button1209 to pick the action he wants, and his album(s) will disappear fromhis account and appear in the buyer's or donation recipient's accountunder “My Assets”. Similarly, the user can solicit sponsorship forbuying certified physical albums or posting selected albums for salefrom sponsors by pressing “Request Sponsorship” button 1210. Theadvertisement area 1211 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Referring to FIG. 13, therein is presented an exemplary illustration ofa stamp album inside view and what the user may do with his stamp albumand stamps inside. As indicated, user interface 1300 contains a displayarea 1301 to display the inside view of a stamp album in response toclicking a stamp album image in 1201 of FIG. 12 or selecting a stampalbum image and pressing a “View Stamps Inside” button (not shown onFIG. 12). The stamp album inside view presents all stamps in the albumthat are automatically sorted. The user can swap locations of the stampsto his preference and press the page forward or backward icon under thestamp album to view other pages. Functions that the system offersinclude but are not limited to the following:

The user can select certain stamps and press “Post Stamps for Sale”button 1302 to put them on the HT Market for sale, or press “Post Stampsfor Donation” button 1303 to donate them to friends or charity. The usercan press “Buy Stamps” button 1304 to buy e-stamps with or withoutphysical stamps and/or associated album, or even post office stamps(e.g., stamps from USPO). Similarly, the user can solicit sponsorshipfor posting stamps for sale and buying stamps from sponsors by pressing“Solicit Sponsorship” button 1312.

In addition, the user can select certain stamps and press “Print Stamps”button 1305 to print out physical stamps, or select the stamp album ondisplay and press “Print Stamp Album” button 1306 to print the emptyalbum, or the album with stamps.

If the user does not like the stamp album on display, he can press“Stamp Album Templates” button 1307 to select a replacement, and press“Preview Stamp Album” button 1308 to preview the inside design of thealbum. Once satisfied, he can press “Save Stamp Album” button 1309 tosave it. The user can also press “Add Stamp” button 1310 to add stampsfrom other folders or albums to the album on display. He can also press“Delete Stamp” button 1311 to delete stamps in the displayed album.

The stamp folder and stamp album methods disclosed above can also beapplied to photo albums, love letter albums, collection albums, resortticket album, product packaging album, and design card album, etc.

For “Videos” under “My Assets”, a user can post and record videos byaccessing the “Videos” web page under “My Assets” and click “Post Video”(not shown) or “Record Video” (not shown) button. The user can solicitor request sponsorship for his video(s). His HT score and popularity ofhis video(s) are key factors in obtaining sponsorship from sponsor(s).Once his sponsorship request is approved, the user gets incentive(s)provided by the sponsor(s), and in exchange, the SponsorAd(s) isdisplayed at the beginning, during, an/or end of the user's videoplaying whenever someone activated the user's video(s) for playing. TheSponsorAd(s) may be displayed for a limited time frame with the user'svideo(s) (e.g., 3 months). Upon expiration of SponsorAd(s), the user canrenew the same SponsorAd(s) to obtain incentive(s) again if he stillqualifies, or he can solicit or request new sponsorship(s) for hisvideo(s). The SponsorAd(s) maybe any type of online advertisement,including but not limited to word, graphics, sound and videoadvertisements.

The user can support a charity organization by adding a charity'sadvertisement(s) at the beginning, during, and/or end of his video(s)playing whenever someone activated the user's video(s) for playing. Inaddition, a charity can solicit or request sponsorship to display thecharity's advertisement(s) at the beginning, during, and/or end of auser's video(s) playing whenever someone activated the user's video(s)for playing.

Now, referring to FIG. 14, therein is presented an exemplaryillustration of the user's treasure under “My Assets” and what the usercan do with his treasure. As indicated, the user interface 1400comprises a display area 1401 to display the image view of his treasureholder (an object to “hold” his treasure) in response to the userclicking “Treasure” 1402 under “My Assets” on the left panel of userinterface 1400. The user's treasure can be automatically organized bycategories or other criteria. What the user can do with his treasureincludes but not limited the following:

The user can change the look of the treasure holder image by selectingthe treasure box/holder image and pressing “Select Treasure Box orImage” button 1403 to change it to another look. The user can buy thephysical treasure box in HotTerrain by pressing “Buy Physical TreasureBox” button 1404 to buy selected treasure boxes with or without treasureinside. The user can also buy treasure by pressing “Buy Treasure” button1405 to select treasure items from a list and the system automaticallyadds the treasure items into the selected treasure box/holder image uponpurchasing. The user can donate his treasure boxes/holders and/ortreasure items inside to individuals or charity by pressing “DonateTreasure” button 1406. The user can also post his treasure boxes/holdersand or treasure items inside for sale by pressing “Post Treasure forSale” button 1407 to automatically post them to the HT Market for sale.The user can solicit sponsorship for buying physical treasure box andbuying treasure. The user can also solicit sponsorship for postingtreasure for sale to benefit the buyer, so that his sale is moreappealing to the buyer. To solicit sponsorship, he simply needs to press“Solicit Sponsorship” button 1408.

The system also allows the user to manage his treasure in the followingways: 1) press “Add Treasure” button 1409 to input existing treasurethat he posses to keep a tracking log for himself; 2) press “LocatePhysical Treasure Boxes” button 1410 to keep a tracking log of locationsthat he stores his treasure; 3) press “Print” button 1411 to print listsof his treasure; 4) press “Delete” button 1412 to delete a record of histreasure. The advertisement area 1413 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG.40 below.

Also, HotTerrain allows the user to view their bank accounts balances,such as by clicking the image of “Bank Accounts” in the display 1401.Such bank accounts include but are not limited to checking, saving,money market, CD, etc. Data about the users' bank accounts isautomatically fed to HotTerrain on a scheduled basis. Another type oftreasure may include user investments (not shown). Again, users'investment account data can be fed to HotTerrain on a schedule basis sothat the user will have an overall view of his treasure. User may needto provide his banks and investment companies his HotTerrain address, sothat his bank and investment account information can be presented to himin a centralized location.

With reference now to FIG. 15, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of the contents inside a selected treasure box andfunctionalities available to a user. As indicated, the user interface1500 comprises a display area 1501 of detailed information of treasureitems in response to the user clicking the “Necklace” treasure box imagein 1401 of FIG. 14, or user selecting the “Necklace” treasure box imageand clicking “View Treasure Inside” button (not shown on FIG. 14). Thedetailed information of treasure items includes but not limited to nameof the item, picture, description, purchase price, market price, source,color, etc.

The user can add his existing treasure items, in this particularexample, other necklaces he posses to the list by clicking “Add toTreasure Box” button 1502, and additional rows will be provided for himto input information about the added items. The user can edit thecontents of his treasure item list by pressing “Edit Contents” button(not shown). The user can also buy treasure by pressing “Buy Treasureand Add to List” button 1503 to select other on sale necklaces from alist, HT Market or HT Mall to buy. He can also select necklaces on hislist and press “Sell Treasure” button 1504 to post his necklaces forsale on HT Market (the system will prompt him to enter sellinginformation). Similarly, the user can solicit sponsorship for buyingtreasure and selling treasure from sponsors by pressing “SolicitSponsorship” button 1505.

Other features that the system allows the user to do include but are notlimited to give his treasure to someone and donate his treasure tocharity. He simply presses “Gift to Someone” button 1506 to give out histreasure item (e.g., a necklace) to a friend or relative. Once therecipient receives the physical item and clicks accept gift in therecipient's account, the necklace entry will disappear from the user'streasure item list. Similarly, to donate to a charity, the user simplyselects the item for donation and presses “Donate to Charity” button1507 to donate. Notification and confirmation messages will be exchangedbetween the user and the charity during the donation process. Theadvertisement area 1508 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Referring to FIG. 16, therein is presented an exemplary illustration ofthe contents inside “Others” category of the user's “My Assets” and howhe can create new category assets inside “Others” to manage his otherassets. As indicated, the user interface 1600 comprises a display area1602 that presents the other assets sub-categories in response to theuser pressing “Others” 1601 under “My Assets” on the left panel of userinterface 1600. In this particular example, the user has “Properties”,“Cars”, “Hobby”, and “Storage” sub-categories that organize and managehis other assets.

For each sub-category, the system allows him to perform severalfunctions include but not limited to “Edit the List”, “View the List”,“Buy”, “Sell”, and “Donate”. The user can also create customizedsub-categories by pressing “Create Customized Assets” 1603, inputtinginformation, and pressing “Create” button 1604 to set up. Theadvertisement area 1605 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

With reference now to FIG. 17, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of the contents inside “Properties” sub-category andfunctionalities available to the user. As indicated, the user interface1700 comprises a display area 1702 to display the contents of“Properties” sub-category in response to the user pressing “Properties”1701 under “My Assets” on the left panel of user interface 1700, or theuser clicking the properties icon/image in 1602 of FIG. 16. Oncedisplayed, the user can select properties, and click “Lease thisproperty” button 1703 to list the properties for rent in HT Market. Theuser can look for rental properties to rent by pressing “Look for RentalProperty” button 1704. The user can press “Buy Property and Add to List”button 1705 to buy more property and press “Sell Property” button 1706to sell. Similarly, the user can request sponsorship for all theseactivities from sponsors by pressing “Solicit Sponsorship” button 1707.

Other features that the system allows the user to do include but are notlimited to pressing “Gift to Someone” button 1708 to give out theproperty to someone, pressing “Donate to Charity” button 1709 to donatethe property to charity, an pressing “Edit Contents” button (not shown)to edit the contents of the property list. The advertisement area 1710is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

In order not to obscure the present invention, functionalities availablefor charity organizations are not explicitly illustrated. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that such functionalities include butare not limited to allow charities to collect donations, solicit/requestsponsorship, issue donation receipts, cut down administration cost ofcounting donated cash and checks and manual reconciliation because cashand check donations are now replaceable by HT money donation, which isexchangeable to real money.

The similar functionalities disclosed for “Properties” apply to othersub-categories, such as “Cars”, “Hobby”, “Storage”, etc. The systemprovides related reports such as current asset detail report, ins andouts reports, asset summary reports, etc., for the user to manage hisassets.

Referring to FIG. 18, therein is presented an exemplary illustration ofthe user's “Groups” community page. As indicated, the user interface1800 comprises display area 1802 in response to the user pressing “MyGroups” 1801 on the left panel of interface 1800. For simplicitypurpose, the display area 1802 consists of information related to theuser's Groups 1803, the user's My Assets 1804, and the user's Wish List1805. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information maybe displayed in separate webpages.

For My Groups 1803, the example shows that the user joined two publicgroups founded by individuals and one public group founded by a company,which is one embodiment of our invention to enable entities to involvein community building with users. For area 1804, the user can share hispersonal information with different groups selected and he can remove oradd such “Read” authority of the viewers by clicking the “Edit” link topick group(s) from his address book or to hide a particular category ofassets from anyone else's viewing.

As for Wish List 1805, the user can enter or post items he wishes toobtain and share such information with groups that he authorizes. Hisfriends or family members who are authorized to see his wish list canobtain the digital or physical items as gifts for him. He can alsosolicit or request sponsorship (not shown on FIG. 18) from groups (suchas all sponsors, my favorite sponsors, friends and family) to obtain theitems. The user can click “Add Item to List” button 1811 to add item(s)to the wish list or select item(s) from the list and click “Delete Itemfrom List” button 1812 to remove unwanted items. The user can also postexisting items found in HotTerrain (e.g., from HT Market, HT Mall, orGifts) to his wish list by clicking “Post Item to List” button 1813 andselecting the item(s) he wants to post. The advertisement area 1814 iselaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

For simplicity, figures showing a member accessing the user's personaland “My Assets” information upon the user's permission and the creationof virtual newsletters, magazines, calendars in “Groups” are not shown.However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that functions areavailable: 1) for the member to transform the user's “My Assets” imagesinto physical item(s) (e.g., convert the user's photos into a photoalbum by selecting an album template, and print or buy the physicalphoto album as a gift for the user); 2) for the user or a member of anentity to create virtual newsletters, virtual books, virtual magazines,virtual calendars, etc in “Groups” to share them with other members.

With reference now to FIG. 19, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of an entity's “Events” webpage. As indicated, the userinterface 1900 comprises display area 1902 in response to a staff of anentity (for example, TV station MSNBC) pressing “Events” 1901 on theleft panel of interface 1900. The display area 1902 allow the staff tocreate an online event of “Millionaire Play-off Competition” wherebyquestions of the competition will be pulled from the pre-establishedquestion database within HotTerrain, or from the TV station's internalquestion database that interfaces with HotTerrain.

The competition allows individuals all over the places to compete onlinewithin the time frame set. The online networking system automaticallyassign users with different questions of the same levels ofdifficulties, and at the end of play-off session, automatically selectsfinal contestants to participate in the final competition that will bebroadcast live on TV and HotTerrain on the date of final competition. Toattract participants, the TV station rolls out several sponsor programsfor other entities (e.g., companies) to provide incentives forindividuals to participate. Sponsorship can be obtained by pressing“Solicit Sponsorships” button 1907 and selecting the group of sponsorsto solicit or request sponsorship.

The staff of the entity can create new event by pressing “Create Event”button 1903, modify the contents of an event by pressing “Edit Event”button 1904, archive old event by pressing “Archive Event” button 1905,and delete an unwanted event by pressing “Delete Event” button 1906. Theadvertisement area 1908 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Now, referring to FIG. 20, therein is presented an exemplaryillustration of the user's “My HT Money” summary report that can begenerated automatically by the system. As indicated, the user interface2000 comprises a display area 2001 to show the user his HT Money SummaryReport in response to the user pressing “My Summary” 2002 under “My HTMoney” on the left panel of the interface 2000. The report includes butare not limited to detailed information such as source of HT Money,Type, Exchange Rate, Amount, and equivalent US dollar (or other currencywhen the user selects by clicking the dropdown menu arrow

). The total of HT Money can be automatically calculated and displayed.

Features supported by the system include but are not limited to thefollowing: 1) the user can click “Get Free HT Money” button 2003 toparticipate in a survey to get free HT Money or to find out ways to getfree HT Money; 2) the user can click “Donate HT Money to Charity” button2004 to donate a specified amount of HT Money that he is willing todonate to a charity organization; 3) the user can click “Give HT Moneyto Someone” button 2005 to give out a specified amount of HT Money toother HT members, such as his friends or relatives; 4) the user can alsoclick “Buy HT Money” button 2006 to directly buy HT Money, and he cansolicit or request sponsorship (not shown) from sponsors to obtaincertain amount of HT money. The advertisement area 2007 is elaborated inFIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

In additional to My HT Money Summary Report, the system also providesother reports and functions for the user, including but not limited tobalance report, detailed report, bank HT money, and use HT credit, etc.For example, the balance report would include beginning balance,activities during a time period and the ending balance of the user's HTMoney. The detailed report would include breakdown of HT money eachspecific action/activity brings. The user has the option to bank ordeposit a certain amount of his HT Money not in use to take theadvantage of earning additional HT Money. The user can also be given aHT Money credit line to spend his HT Money first and pay back later on ainstallment basis.

One of the major differences between the “Gifts” section of HotTerrainand that of other websites is that the user can request sponsorship fromsponsors for digital and/or physical gifts. Features of the “Gifts”section of HotTerrain are similar to those in “My Assets”.

With reference now to FIG. 21, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of the “HT Market” where a user can buy items and requestsponsorship. As indicated, the user interface 2100 comprises displayarea 1902 in response to the user clicking “Buy” 2101 under “HT Market”section of the left panel. For simplicity, the display area 2102 doesnot show the list of categories of items for sale on HT Market and howthe user locates the item he wants by looking at a item list underselected category or by searching for key word(s). In this particularexample, the user is interested in buying an “Apple iPod” of which theinformation is shown on display 2102, including the seller's profile.Let's assume the seller sets the iPod as negotiable. The user whointends to buy the iPod inputs his “Desired Buying Price” in text box2103. The system automatically sets the user's initial negotiation priceat text box 2104. The user can input a rate of increment duringnegotiation at text box 2105.

The user can solicit or request sponsorship by selecting a group ofsponsors or a sponsor to send the request to at 2106, and selecting theoption of allowing the system to automatically assign him a sponsor(s)at 2107. The user also has the option of picking specific sponsor(s) at2108 if he has a higher chance of obtaining the sponsorship. The systemmay display likelihood of getting sponsorship for the user's request at2109 before he sends out the request. He can also click “View MY HTScore” button 2112 to see his current HT Score so as to evaluate hischances of winning the sponsorship. The user can also request the sellerto solicit sponsorship for him as a negotiation tactic at 2110. Thesystem may display the likelihood of getting sponsorship from seller ifthe seller agrees at 2111. Also, the user can give a rating and feedbackon the seller's item upon receiving the item.

The user can also click “Add to My Asset Upon Purchasing” button 2113 toselect the location under “My Assets” that the iPod would go into whenpurchased. If the user does not select, the system will automaticallysend it to a default location under “My Assets” and the user canrelocate the item later on. The advertisement area 2114 is elaborated inFIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the negotiation methoddepicted in FIG. 21 may vary, the buyer could agree to seller's “fixedprice” rather than trying to lower the price. However, the buyer canstill solicit sponsorship himself or ask the seller to do so for him.

Referring to FIG. 22, therein is presented an exemplary illustration ofthe user selling his items in “HT Market”, requesting sponsorship, andinviting buyers to a virtual negotiation. As indicated, the userinterface 2200 comprises a display area 2201 that is triggered by theuser pressing “Sell” 2202 under “HT Market” of the left panel. In thisparticular example, the user intends to sell his iPhone. He inputs hisdesired price at 2203 and authorizes the system to automatically set hisinitial offer price at 2204, which will be his desired price plus amark-up amount. The user may be presented with the option to pickaggressive mark-up, moderate mark-up, or conservative mark-up (not shownon FIG. 22). The user can also let the HT system to negotiate for himautomatically by inputting rate of reduction during negotiation at 2205,so that the system will reduce the price during each negotiation sessionwith the buyers.

The system allows him to solicit sponsorship at 2206 and he can selectto allow the system to automatically assign him sponsor(s) at 2207. Theuser also has the option of picking the sponsor he likes at 2208 and thesystem may automatically display the likelihood of getting sponsored at2209. The user can upload a photo of his iPhone at 2210, offer certainamount of his HT money to the buyer at 2211, and choose to solicitsponsorship for the buyer at 2212 so that the buyer gets the sponsorshipincentive upon purchasing, a marketing scheme to attract buyers.

The seller may be required to set expiration date for selling the item,or select a system default expiration date. The seller can easilyre-post the item for sale if it is not sold after the expiration date(not shown on FIG. 22).

In order to improve the likelihood of making a sale, the user can invitebuyers to a virtual negotiation. In this particular example, the userpicks “Golden Restaurant” 2213 as the virtual negotiation venue (3-Dvirtual place). The price of the virtual session is displayed at 2214,which is the expense for playing the virtual session to sell the iphone.The user can buy the virtual session using his HT Money at 2215 orrequest sponsorship at 2216. Similarly, the system may display thelikelihood of him winning the sponsorship at 2217.

The user can configured the system to send out invitations to buyers andinvite his friends to watch the virtual negotiation at 2218. All of themcan use instant messaging feature during the play of the virtualsession. Also, if the buyer purchases the iPhone, the system mayautomatically send out an e-receipt on behalf of the user to his buyer'sNeatExpense account (the sister website of HotTerrain. See FIG. 26below). The system also allows the user to select an existing item inhis “My Assets” by clicking “Select Item for Sale from My Assets” button2219 to bring the item to HT Market. This way, the system automaticallypopulates some of the fields for him, such as name of the item,category, description, photo, etc., and he just needs to completefilling out the remaining information. The advertisement area 2120 iselaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

The system may integrate negotiation tactics, such as price negotiation,volume-buying negotiation, walk away, and so on. For specific examples,negotiation techniques can be provided to the seller and/or buyer toassist their negotiation, such as “Okay, I can do $350. I have loweredmy price, it's now your term”, “I can't further lower the price, but Ican give you an iPhone ear piece for free”, “You can do better thanthis. There is another seller who is offering me $330. My offer is $320.If you don't agree, I will walk through from this negotiation”, etc.

The system may also allow users to barter their items rather than tosell and to buy, especially for digital items on HotTerrain. Again,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the selling methoddepicted in FIG. 22 may vary. For example, it could be a bidding orfixed price technique rather than a price negotiation.

With reference now to FIG. 23, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of the user buying products or services in “HT Mall” andhow he can request sponsorship. As indicated, the user interface 2300comprises a display area 2302 in response to the user pressing “HT Mall”2301 on the left panel of the user interface 2300. For illustrationpurpose, the product categories 2303 and product list 2304 in responseto the user's searching are both shown in the display area 2302. Inanother embodiment of present invention, they may be shown sequentiallyon separate tabs.

When the user is presented with a product list in 2304, in this example,Cat Supplies, he can select the product he wants and click the functionbuttons below to perform actions that include but are not limited to: 1)add the item to his shopping cart; buy the item (with options of payingHT Money, credit card, or PayPal, etc); add the item to his shoppinglist; solicit or request sponsorship; keep an eye on the item; or tell afriend to earn free HT Money. For items requiring shipping fee, thesystem is able to obtain data from local stores and show the user if hecan pick up the item at a local store when he clicks the local storelink in display 2304. The advertisement area 2305 is elaborated in FIG.33 and FIG. 40 below.

Now referring to FIG. 24, therein is presented an exemplary illustrationof “Sponsors” webpage and what the user can do within the page. Asindicated, the user interface 2400 comprises a display area 2402 inresponse to the user pressing “Sponsors” 2401 on the left panel of theuser interface 2400. For illustrative purposes, Sponsor List 2403, MyFavorite Sponsors 2404, and My History Sponsors 2405 are shown togetheron the same page, but in reality, they may be shown on separate webpages. Skipped are the steps of obtaining the sponsor list, such as bysearch an inventive key word(s), or by selecting from sponsorcategories. Inventive key words are words users can use to searchincentives offered by sponsors in connection to the SponsorAds. Thesponsors enter the incentive key words when setting up SponsorAds sothat the system automatically compares user entered incentive key wordsto the sponsors' incentive key words to identify any match.

Within the Sponsor List 2403, the system allows the user to performtasks including but not limited to pressing “Solicit Sponsorship” button2406 to solicit or request sponsorship, and pressing “Select FavoriteSponsor” button 2407 to select his favorite sponsors so as to requestsponsorship at a later time. The user may need to book his favoritesponsor(s) because his HT score is not meeting the minimum requirementat the time he sees the SponsorAd. The user can also directly press“Request Sponsorship” link in each selected sponsor list item to requestspecific sponsorship. A pop-up window may appear to also allow him toinform a friend, save the SponsorAd for later use, complete a survey,subscribe news letter, etc.

For My Favorite Sponsors 2404, the system is configured to automaticallysend out sponsor request when the user's HT Score meets the minimumrequirement for sponsorship. The user can select SponsorAds in area 2404and press “Request Sponsorship” button 2408, or click “RequestSponsorship” link in each SponsorAd at any time to try his luck if hisscore is lower than the minimum requirement. Other action includes butis not limited to the user pressing “Delete Sponsors from the List”button 2409 to delete sponsors from his favorite list. The advertisementarea 2410 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

My History Sponsors 2405 shows the user sponsorships that he obtained ina given time frame. A running total of the sponsor incentives in dollarterm may also be presented to the user for his information (not shown).Other features of Sponsorship include but are not limited to the userpost specific sponsorship requests to solicit for sponsorship ratherthan picking from a list of offers by sponsors, and user requestsponsorship to benefit others, such as buyers of his products or friendsand relatives so that these people receive the sponsor incentives.Sponsor incentives can be HT Money, digital and physical gifts, games,videos, e-stamps, e-stickers, albums, products, services, movie tickets,coupons, discounts, rebates, gift cards, rain checks, virtual party,songs, luck draws, trip, etc. Certain physical incentives can becollected at physical stores that partner with HotTerrain.

The user can solicit or request sponsorships for any item or activity inHotTerrain, such as obtaining collector stamps or physical photo albums,selling or buying items, obtaining HT Money, playing virtual sessions orgames, requesting one time or recurring reminder services (email andphone call reminder), obtaining certain HT reports, and so on.

Reference now to FIG. 25, therein is depicted an exemplary illustrationof a “Developer” webpage and what a developer can do within developerwebpages. As indicated, the user interface 2500 comprises a display area2502 in response to the user clicking “Promote” 2501 under “Developer”application of the left panel of the user interface 2500. Under“Developer” application, the user can perform tasks including but notlimited to: 1) developing applications and designs that run onHotTerrain; 2) promoting his applications; 3) viewing related developerreports.

The display area 2502 presents information including but not limited tothe icon of the user's designed item, description of the item,sponsorship group selection, beneficiary of the sponsorship, andlikelihood of sponsorship. The user can then click “Sell the DesignItem” button 2503 to post the selected design(s) or application(s) to HTMarket for sale, or click “Post the Design for Free” button 2504 to postthe selected design(s) or application(s) to HT Market for other users'free usage. The user can also press “Solicit Sponsorship” button 2505 tosolicit or request sponsorship for his selected design from a selectedsponsor group, a specific company, or even an individual. Theadvertisement area 2506 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

Now referring to FIG. 26, therein is presented an exemplary illustrationof sister website of HotTerrain, called “NeatExpense”, and how it canmanage a user's electronic receipts. For simplicity sake, several stepsthat lead to the display of the user interface 2600 of FIG. 26 areomitted, such as the user clicking “NeatExpense” link on the left panelof FIG. 25 and clicking “My Personal Account” dropdown menu on the leftpanel of FIG. 26. The user can also sign in to his NeatExpense accountfrom www.neatexpense.com, rather than through the single sign-on featurein HotTerrain.com to access his account. The single sign-on fromHotTerrain to NeatExpense means the user just need to click theNeatExpense link in HotTerrain to access his NeatExpense account withoutthe need to enter user ID and password.

As indicated, the user interface 2600 comprises a display area 2601 inresponse to the user clicking “My e-Receipts” 2602 under “My PersonalAccount” of the left panel of FIG. 26. Information displayed in 2601includes but is not limited to e-receipt date, issuer, type, amount,payment method, receipt image (user can click the image to see theenlarged image that contains detailed and itemized data of the selectede-receipt), and summary total. The user can select his e-receipt(s) andclick “Print Receipt” button 2603 to print out physical receipt(s).Other features provided by the system include but are not limited to: 1)clicking “Set My Monthly Budget” button 2604 to set the user's monthlyexpense ceiling, he will be notified if he exceeds his budget; 2)clicking “Watch My Spending” button 2605 to obtain detailed reports ofthe user's spending pattern, amounts, etc; 3) clicking “SolicitSponsorship” button 2606 to solicit or request sponsorship for certainuser activities in NeatExpense. The advertisement area 2607 iselaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

The user also has a “My Work Account” that is separate from his personalaccount to keep track of his work related expenses, so that he can usethe work related e-receipts and data to submit his expense report to hisemployer. This gets rid of the hassle for him to collect physicalreceipts during his business trips and the reconciliation and locatingof physical receipts when preparing expense reports. The system isprogrammed so that when a user sets up his personal account, he is thenautomatically assigned a work account when he clicks “accept” (notshown) or vice versa.

The system allows individuals and small businesses to create e-receiptswhen they receive payments from buyers. And the system enables dataexchange from businesses that have their POS system to obtain thereceipt data for their customers who have NeatExpense accounts.Therefore, the system enables its users to keep all of their receipts ina centralized place for easy retrieval. The system can also interfacewith enterprise expense systems, so that receipt data is automaticallypopulated in the enterprise expense systems, further saving the users'time to input the information in their employers' expense systems

Other functions provided by NeatExpense system for individual accountsinclude but are not limited to managing bills and generating variousexpense related reports. In order not to obscure the present invention,detailed features of NeatExpense system is disclosed in our inventiontitled “Online Expense System”.

With reference now to FIG. 27, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of creating an e-receipt in a store and accepting HT Moneyfor product payment. For simplicity, several steps that lead to thedisplay of the user interface 2700 of FIG. 27 are omitted, such as how asmall business set up a business account with NeatExpense and how theregistration information (business name, address, owner, etc.) is storedin the system. As indicated, the user interface 2700 comprises a displayarea 2701 in response to a user pressing “Create e-Receipts” 2702 on theleft panel of user interface 2700. The user's business information isautomatically populated in display 2701. For example, the user simplyneeds to enter the item dollar amount in text box 2703. Additional rowsof items can be added by pressing “Add Item” button 2705.

In the particular example as shown in 2700, the small business owner hascreated a grocery database in his NeatExpense account, so that when heenters item code 001, the system automatically populates the name of theitem, unit price, etc., the user just needs to input the number of unitsand the system automatically calculates the amount for each item. Theuser may also enter the sale tax percentage or the system couldautomatically determine that for the user based on the user's locationand the item(s) the buyer is purchasing. The summary total is shown atthe bottom of the item list. In this particular example, the owneraccepts HT Money payment from the buyer who visits the owner's physicalstore. The buyer is able to transfer the equivalent HT Money from hisHotTerrain or NeatExpense account to the owner's NeatExpense accountusing his cell phone or the owner's Internet computer or cell phone.

Once the HT Money is successfully transferred, the status of paymentautomatically indicates “Paid”. The owner can also verify the receipt ofHT Money by clicking “View My HT Money Account” 2710. Once thetransaction is complete, an e-Receipt regarding the transaction isautomatically sent to the buyer's NeatExpense Account as shown at 2704.The system displays a successful transmission message on the owner'scomputer or cell phone. Instant notification of the arrival of thee-receipt is shown on the buyer's cell phone.

Other functions provided by the system include but not limited to: 1)pressing “Delete Receipt” button 2706 to delete unwanted receipt; 2)pressing “Print Receipt” button 2707 to provide a physical receipt; 3)pressing “List of All Receipts” button 2708 to view a list of allreceipts issued; 4) pressing “e-Receipt View” button 2709 to view theimage of an e-Receipt that may include business logo and special design;5) pressing “Request Sponsorship” button 2711 to solicit sponsorshipsfrom sponsors for activities in NeatExpense, such as providing incentivefor the buyer, sponsoring e-Receipt customization, obtaining relatedreports, etc. The display 2701 may also include instructions to userNeatExpense e-Receipt functions, such as shown in 2712. Theadvertisement area 2713 is elaborated in FIG. 33 and FIG. 40 below.

The system enables users to authorize their accountants to obtain theirexpense reports of a fiscal year maintained in NeatExpense to preparetheir income tax returns. The system also allows expense data transferfrom NeatExpense to major accounting firms for their preparation ofclients' tax return so that such data do not need to be re-entered intheir accounting systems.

Other functions provided by NeatExpense system for business accountsinclude but are not limited to managing invoices, databases andgenerating various expense related reports. In order not to obscure thepresent invention, detailed features of NeatExpense system are disclosedin our invention titled “Online Expense System”.

Now referring to FIG. 28, therein is presented an exemplary illustrationof sister website “NeatClerk” and how a bank branch can utilize thee-log for recording its night deposit box transactions. For simplicity,several steps that lead to the display of the user interface 2800 ofFIG. 28 are omitted, such as registering a NeatClerk business account,input registration information, input the name of a e-log, etc. Asindicated, the user interface 2800 comprises a display area 2802 inresponse to the user clicking “Create” 2801 on the left panel of theuser interface 2800. The display 2802 may be presented to the user withdefault number of rows, and allow the user to click “Append” button 2803or “Insert” button 2804 to add more rows as needed.

Data such as branch number and date is automatically populated by thesystem from data collected during account registration process inresponse to the user pressing “Get Data from DB” button (not shown) orthe user pressing “Create” 2801 on the left panel of the user interface2800. The branch personnel only need to enter number of envelopes,amount inside each envelope, and customer name/account. In thisparticular example, the display 2802 is accessed by using the user's(who is a verifier) logon ID and password for the initial sign-in. Theverifier simply clicks the “Verified By” cell of each item, and hisdigital signoff is automatically populated indicating his verificationof each item. And for the reviewer who confirms the night depositcontents with the verifier, she simply highlights the “Confirmed By”cell for each item and the system prompts for her user ID and password.Once entered, her digital signoffs are automatically populated. The usercan delete selected rows by pressing “Delete” button 2805 and save thee-log by pressing “Save” button 2806. The user can press “Print Preview”button 2807 to preview the layout of the e-log and press “Print” button2808 to print the e-log if necessary.

The “Signature” button 2809 is a secured and certified digital“Signature” that is tied to the user's real identification (e.g.,verification to government record of the individual's identity), whichis used among parties who do not know each other for signing e-contractsand e-agreements, etc. For business e-logs, the use of certifiedsignature may not be necessary and the digital signoff described abovemay be sufficient. Such e-logs include but are not limited to trainingattendant rosters, passenger pick-up logs, computer operation dailychecklists, security event weekly review logs, general ledgerreconciliation logs, ATM daily balancing logs, etc.

In this particular example, the user can view all night deposit logs byclicking “View Logs of Night Deposit Box” button 2810 and selecting thecategory of the logs, such as by branch number, by person, or all, etc.The system also supports audit features not limited to checking missingsignoffs by pressing button 2811.

Other functions provided by the NeatClerk system include but are notlimited to managing e-savers, e-contracts/agreement and generatingvarious related reports. E-savers include e-discounts, e-coupons,e-rebates, e-gift cards, e-rain checks, etc. The NeatClerk system is notonly a place for entities and individuals to generate e-savers, managee-savers in a centralized location, but also enable users to use theire-savers in participating physical stores by simply entering theirNeatClerk user ID and password in the stores' POS systems. The systemalso enables centralized management of e-savers for businesses tosimplify their current manual process of collecting and reconcilingphysical e-savers. In order not to obscure the present invention,detailed features of NeatClerk system are disclosed in our inventiontitled “Online Log and Signature System”.

With reference now to FIG. 29, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of sister website “SmartOffice” and how the workflows ofdocuments are tracked and analyzed to report white-collar workers'productivity and related issues. For simplicity, several steps that leadto the display of the user interface 2900 of FIG. 29 are omitted, suchas registering a SmartOffice account, inputting registrationinformation, accessing the account by clicking SmartOffice link inHotTerrain through single sign-on, etc. Before getting into the details,a workflow is typically defined as a process flow of a document throughits life/work cycle, such as file in progress, file in review, file inmodification, file in completion, file in evaluation, etc.

In this particular example, we use a spreadsheet document forillustration. The display area 2900 comprises workflow setting 2901,approval function 2902, evaluation function 2903 and other functions,such as notes, document properties and related reports. As demonstrated,the workflow of the spreadsheet document may be set by pressing the“Workflow” button 2901. The document may go through the workflow bysequence as shown on workflow menu 2904. Authorization may be requiredif the user needs to go back to prior stage(s). The user can set acustomized workflow by pressing the “Workflow” button 2901 and selectthe steps/stages needed.

If the document needs approval, an appropriate individual(s) may approvethe document by clicking the “Approval” button 2902 when receiving thedocument from the user. The system may automatically date/time stamp thedocument and record the approval digital signoff(s) as shown on 2905.Similarly, an appropriate individual(s) may evaluate the document bypressing the “Evaluate” button 2903 to provide feedback(s) as indicatedon 2906. Individual and group productivity reports, idle time, flowtime, bottlenecks, defective and overdue work reports, etc. can begenerated on demand to assist companies to dramatically improvewhite-collar productivity and tackle related thorny issues.

Other functions provided by SmartOffice system include but are notlimited to applying Knowledge-worker Productivity EnhancementMethodology (KPEM) and Integrated Performance Evaluation Model (IPEM),and providing Knowledge-worker Enterprise Resource Planning (KERP)functions to effectively manage white-collar work. In order not toobscure the present invention, detailed features of SmartOffice systemare disclosed in our inventions titled “Knowledge-worker EnterpriseResource Planning (KERP)” and “Enhanced E-Mail System”.

Now, referring to FIG. 30, therein is depicted a high-level logicflowchart illustrating how the system assigns sponsorships andSponsorAds based on user solicitations. As indicated, the process startsat step 3000 and the user selects item(s) that he needs sponsorship atstep 3001, examples of such item(s) can be a physical stamp album thatstores stamps that the user collects, or a product on HT Market or HTMall that the user intends to buy. The user then selects “SolicitSponsorship” at step 3002. The system prompts the user to selectsponsorship criteria at step 3003. Upon completion of step 3003, theuser sends out the solicitation, the system automatically matches thesolicitation to SponsorAd Database and User Profile Database at step3004. SponsorAd Database contains all SponsorAds from sponsors and UserProfile Database contains all user profile information, including theirHT scores. Step 3005 and Step 3006 show the data exchange between theHotTerrain system and SponsorAd Database(s) or User Profile Database(s).

A determination is then made by the system as to whether a qualifiedsponsorship is found after the comparison at step 3007. If yes, thesystem credits the user account based on the incentive offered by thesponsor at 3010, such as adding HT Money, e-saver, gift certificate,etc., to the user account. If no, the system displays an error messageand alternative sponsorship result at step 3008. At this point, adetermination is made by the user as to whether to accept thealternative sponsorship. If the user accepts, the system automaticallycredits the user account based on the incentive offered by thealternative sponsor at 3010. If no, the system prompts the user tochange his sponsorship criteria and the process goes back to step 3003to repeat the same loop. After crediting the user account, the systeminserts the SponsorAd in the user's HT space and community web pages atstep 3011. When these web pages are called for display, the SponsorAdare shown on the advertisement area of each page. The process ends atstep 3012.

Referring to FIG. 31, therein is depicted a high-level logic flowchartillustrating how the system enables a user to renew recurringsponsorship and SponsorAd. Here, steps for entities, especially forcompanies to create SponsorAds are skipped, including setting theSponsorAd expiration dates. As indicated, the process starts at step3100 and the user performs whatever he needs to do and then reaches step3101 whereby the system notifies the user the approaching expiration ofone of his SponsorAds. The user clicks “Renew SponsorAd” at step 3102.The system sends the renewal data to SponsorAd Database(s) at step 3103.Step 3104 indicates the renewal data reaches the SponsorAd Database(s)and the two-way communication between HotTerrain program and theSponsorAd Database(s).

Next, the system matches the user's renewal request to the SponsorAdDatabase(s) and User Profile Database(s) at step 3105 to see if the usermeets the minimum HT score requirement or other criteria for therenewal. Step 3106 shows the communication between HotTerrain programand the User Profile Database(s).

A determination is then made by the system as to whether the user isqualified for the renewal at step 3107. If yes, the system automaticallycredits the user's account based on the incentive provided by thesponsor. Next, the system also automatically extends the expiration dateof the SponsorAd in the user's HT space and community web pages at step3114. The user then performs whatever he needs to do and the processends at step 3115. If no, the system displays a denial message informingthat the user does not meet minimum requirement for the renewal at step3109. The system displays alternative SponsorAd(s) that the userqualifies for at step 3110.

Now, a determination is made by the user to accept or reject thealternative SponsorAd(s) at step 3111. If yes, the system automaticallycredits the user account based on the incentive offered by thealternative SponsorAd(s) at step 3112 and inserts the alternativeSponsorAd(s) to the user's HT space and community web pages at step3113. The user then performs whatever he needs to do and the processends at 3115. If the user rejects, the user then performs whatever heneeds to do and the process ends at step 3115.

With reference now to FIG. 32, therein is depicted an exemplaryillustration of a flow diagram depicting how to enable a user to requestspecific sponsorship and SponsorAd. As indicated, the process starts atstep 3200, the user does whatever he needs to do and arrives at step3201 whereby he requests a specific SponsorAd. The system compares theuser request to the SponsorAd Database(s) and User Profile Database(s)at step 3202. Step 3203 indicates the two-way communication betweenHotTerrain system and the SponsorAd Database(s). And Step 3204 shows thetwo-way communication between HotTerrain system and the User ProfileDatabase(s).

A determination is then made by the system as to whether the user meetsthe requirement of the specific sponsorship at step 3205. If yes, thesystem automatically credits the user's account based on the incentiveprovided by the sponsor at step 3206. Next, the system automaticallyinserts the SponsorAd in the user's HT space and community web pages atstep 3207. The user then performs whatever he needs to do and theprocess ends at step 3209. If no, the system displays a denial messageinforming that the user does not meet minimum requirement for thespecific sponsorship at step 3208. The user does whatever he needs to doand the process ends at step 3209. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the system can display alternative SponsorAd(s) that theuser qualifies after displaying the denial message at 3208. It is thenup to the user to decide if he accepts or rejects and the similarprocess depicted in FIG. 31 follows.

Referring to FIG. 33, therein is depicted a high-level logic flowchartillustrating how the system lists sponsorships and SponsorAds accordingto bidding prices. As indicated, the process starts at step 3300, thesystem does whatever he needs to do and then arrives at step 3301whereby the system identifies the highest bidding SponsorAd from theSponsorAd Database(s). Step 3302 shows the two-way communication betweenthe HotTerrain program and the SponsorAd Database(s). Once the highestbid is identified, the system automatically places the SponsorAd on thetope of the designated display area at step 3303, such as“Advertisements” area 303, 403, 509, 602, 709, 809, 904, 1008, 1113,1211, 1313, 1413, 1508, 1605, 1710, 1814, 1908, 2007, 2114, 2220, 2305,2410, 2506, 2607, and 2713, from FIG. 3 to FIG. 27.

A determination is then made by the system to identify if moreSponsorAds are in the database(s). If yes, the system automaticallyidentifies the highest bidding among the remaining SponsorAds at step3305. At this time, the system is communicating with the SponsorAdDatabase(s) to identify the next highest bidder. The system then placesthe next highest bidding SponsorAd below the prior one on the designateddisplay area at step 3306 and the process goes back to identify if moreSponsorAds are in the database(s). If no more SponsorAd is found, theprocess ends at step 3307.

With reference now to FIG. 34, therein is depicted an exemplary flowdiagram depicting how the system assigns sponsorships and SponsorAdsupon entity request. As indicated, the process starts at step 3400 andproceeds to step 3401 whereby a requesting entity (a company, a charityorganization, a school, etc) enters its HotTerrain Advertisement (HT Ad)contents. At this point, the entity can enter sponsorshipsolicitation(s) to ask sponsorships from other entities (typicallycompanies) at step 3402. Normally, the entity is soliciting sponsorshipfor the benefits of users so that they will be more likely to takeactions on the entity's HT Ads, especially if the entity offers someincentive with its HT Ads.

Next, the entity sets solicitation criteria, such as the type ofsponsors or incentives it is looking for, at step 3403. The system thenautomatically matches the solicitation to SponsorAd Database(s) andBusiness Profile Database(s) at step 3404. Similarly, step 3405 showsthe communication between the HotTerrain program and the SponsorAdDatabase(s) and step 3406 shows the communication between the HotTerrainprogram and the Entity Profile Database(s).

A determination is then made by the system to identify if a qualifiedhighest bidding SponsorAd is found at step 3407. If yes, the systemautomatically retrieves SponsorAd data at step 3408 and then inserts thehighest biding SponsorAd to the designated location with the entity's HTAd at step 3409. Next the system performs whatever it needs to do andthen displays the SponsorAd whenever a webpage containing the entity'sHT Ad and the SponsorAd is activated for display at step 3410. Theprocess then ends at step 3411. If no qualified SponsorAd is found, theprocess goes back to step 3403 to re-set the solicitation criteria. Itshould be noted to those skilled in the art that the entity does notneed to solicit sponsorship when setting up its HT Ad. It has the optionof requesting sponsorship at a later time.

Referring to FIG. 35, therein is depicted a high-level logic flowchartillustrating how the system matches incentive key word(s) to SponsorAds.As indicated, the process starts at step 3500 and the user does whateverhe needs to do in HotTerrain. Then, the user inputs incentive keyword(s) and presses “search” at step 3501. The system automaticallycompares user key word(s) to SponsorAd database(s) at step 3502. Step3503 show the communication between the HotTerrain program and theSponsorAd Database(s) to enable the comparison.

Next, a determination is made by the system at step 3504 to identify ifmatching key word(s) is found. If yes, the system automatically displaysSponsorAds containing the key word(s) in the order of the highestbidding price at step 3505. The process then ends at 3507. If no, thesystem displays a message of no search result found and requests theuser to input a new key word(s) at step 3506. The process then goes backto step 3501 to complete the loop.

Now, referring to FIG. 36, therein is depicted a high-level logicflowchart illustrating how the system collects Cost Per Click (CPC) andCost Per Thousand Impression (CPM) data, generates and distributesrelated reports. As indicated, the process starts at step 3600 and thesystem performs whatever it needs to do to arrive at step 3601 wherebythe system resets counter and then sets a timer at step 3602. Next, thesystem detects a SponsorAd is either clicked or displayed, itautomatically increments the counts to count the number of clicks andimpressions at step 3603.

Next, a determination is made by the system whether the timer time hasexpired at step 3604. If not, the system goes back to step 3603 tocontinuously count the number of clicks and impressions of the SponsorAdduring the time period defined (for example, the timer is set from thefirst of a month to the end of the month). If yes, the system stopscounting for that particular time period, automatically retrievescalculation formula and report templates at step 3605, and automaticallygenerates SponsorAd Activity Reports at step 3606. Upon this time, thesystem automatically sends the reports to the Advertiser at step 3607.The process for counting clicks and impressions of a particularSponsorAd during a specified time period ends at step 3607. It should benoted to those skilled in the art that the activities under tracking arenot limited to clicks and impression, but also other actions on aSponsorAd. Also, reports of multiple SponsorAds of an advertiser can beconsolidated and sent to the advertiser.

Referring to FIG. 37, therein is depicted a high-level logic flowchartillustrating how the system picks low-bidding price SponsorAds forluck-draw display. As indicated, the process starts at step 3700 and thesystem perform whatever it needs to do to arrive at step 3701 wherebythe system accepts SponsorAds with bidding prices lower than a pre-setvalue into a luck-draw pool. Step 3702 shows the communication betweenthe HotTerrain program and the SponsorAd Database(s) to enable theacceptance of lower bidding price SponsorAds into the luck-draw pool.Next, the system sets a timer at step 3703 (e.g., 15 minutes) andrandomly picks a Sponsor Ad at step 3704.

Upon random selection, the system automatically inserts the SponsorAd indesignated locations of HT web pages at steep 3705. For example, thedesignated locations can be the fifth advertisement locations of page 1to 3 of a HT advertisement area, such as advertisement area 303 of FIG.3. Whenever users activate web pages containing the inserted SponsorAdduring the set time period, the system automatically displays theluckily drawn SponsorAd in the designated locations when displayingthose web pages at step 3706.

Next, the system determines if the pre-set time has expired at step3707. If not, the system keeps on displaying the luckily drawn SponsorAdin the designated locations whenever the web pages containing theSponsorAd are activated by users for display. When the time is up, thesystem automatically removes the SponsorAd from designated locations ofthe web pages where it was inserted before at step 3708. The processthen goes back to step 3701 to create another luck-draw pool of lowbidding SponsorAds and to randomly pick a lucky one. The process neverends because the luck-draw is on going.

Those skilled in the art would appreciate that the system can beprogrammed to avoid picking the same low-bidding SponsorAd repeatedly,so that more low-bidding SponsorAds can become luck-draw candidates. Andalso the SponsorAd luck-draw method can be applied to other types ofonline advertisements. This is to help small players to increase theironline advertisement results without increasing their onlineadvertisement expenses.

With reference now to FIG. 38, therein is depicted an exemplary flowdiagram depicting what a user can do when he clicks a SponsorAd outsideof HotTerrain that has a link embedded in the SponsorAd to link toHotTerrain. As indicated, the process starts at step 3800 and the userdoes whatever he needs to do with his computer. Then, the user clicks aSponsorAd that's shown on a website outside of HotTerrain system (forexample, he clicks the SponsorAd link in Google's webpage). Upon theuser's clicking, a SponsorAd Utility is triggered at step 3802 todisplay the detailed advertisement contents of the SponsorAd at step3803. The utility also triggers the display of a link for the user tosign in his HotTerrain account or to create an account if he is a newuser at step 3804. The user then performs whatever he decides to do andthe process ends at step 3805.

Referring to FIG. 39, therein is depicted a high-level logic flowchartillustrating the process of issuing a physical item identification markwhen a user clicks a physical item image displayed on HotTerrain toobtain the corresponding physical item. As indicated, the process startsat step 3900 and the user does whatever he needs to do with hiscomputer. Then, the user clicks a HotTerrain physical item image toobtain the physical item at step 3901.

The physical item image means the image has an associated physical item.For example, some of the stamp album images may have associated physicalstamp albums, and others may not. The purpose of issuing anidentification mark is to authenticate and track the ownership of aphysical item (especially a valuable one) to facilitate the futuretransfer of the physical item among HotTerrain members. Once the usercompletes the step at 3901 to obtain the physical item, such as payingby HT Money, PayPal or credit card, the system sends the transactiondata to the HotTerrain ID Issuance Database(s) at step 3902. As shown,step 3903 indicates the sending of the transaction data from theHotTerrain system to the ID Issuance Database(s). The system thenassigns an identification mark to the physical item image at step 3904through the two-way communication with the HT ID Issuance Database(s).

The identification mark includes but not limited to number codes, barcodes, alphanumeric codes, certifications, etc. The identification datais also sent to the back office responsible for the physical shipment ofthe item whereby the identification mark is attached to the physicalitem at step 3905. Next, the physical item is shipped to the user atstep 3906 and the process ends at 3907.

Those skill in the art will appreciate that if a user does not obtainthe physical item but decides to sell the image of the item (e.g., aunique design of a stamp album), the system will enable a buyer to findout that the image has an associated physical item that has not beingpurchased and the seller does not have the physical item and associatedID. Once the buyer purchases the image, he then has the option to obtainthe physical item by using one of the various payment methods.

Now, referring to FIG. 40, therein is depicted an exemplary diagramillustrating the calculation of users' HotTerrain Scores. As indicatedin area 4001, key factors for calculating a HT score include but are notlimited to membership level (such as gold membership or 98% positiverating), size of the user's communities (number of people in thecommunities), available advertisement space in the user's community webpages whereby community members can view, available advertisement spacein the user's HT Space (such as “Advertisements” area 303, 403, 509,602, 709, 809, 904, 1008, 1113, 1211, 1313, 1413, 1508, 1605, 1710,1814, 1908, 2007, 2114, 2220, 2305, 2410, 2506, 2607, and 2713, fromFIG. 3 to FIG. 27), level of user activeness within HotTerrain andsister websites, and user's prior purchasing activities (e.g., can bemeasured based on dollar amount spent). The weight of each factor isthen determined based how significant each factor contributes to theadvertisers' consideration for sponsorship.

For example, advertisers may be particularly concerned about the size ofthe communities and the available advertisement space in the communitiesbecause these two factors largely determine the accessibility andviewability of the advertisers' SponsorAds; therefore, they are assignedwith heavier weights. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that theweights indicated in block 4001 are for reference only; actual weightscan be assigned based on market research and data analyses.

Area 4002 shows examples of calculation formulae for each key factoridentified in 4001. For factor F1 (membership level), “r” represents thereview or feedback rating a user receives. The score for factor 1 isequal to 0 when the rating is lower than 90%. If the rating is higher orequal to 90%, then the score is calculated by the formula as shown. Forfactor F2 (size of the community), assuming the maximum number(represented by Nmax) equals 1,000,000, and then the score for factor F2is equal to 100 if the number of members in the user's communities isgreater than or equals the maximum number. If the number of members isless than the Nmax, then the score is calculated by the formula asshown.

For factor F3 (available Ad space in the user's HT space) and factor F4(available Ad space in the user's community web pages), scores aredetermined by the number of advertisements already on the web pages. Forexample, if the web pages of the user's communities does not have anySponsorAds, that presents the greatest advantage for the advertiser toplace its SponsorAd on the top of the advertisement areas of the user'scommunity web pages and receives the high traffic due to the location.Therefore, the score of 100 is awarded to factor F3 if there is noSponsorAd on the user's communities. The similar method applies tofactor F4.

As indicated, the scores of factor 3 and 4 decrease when the number ofAds already on the web pages increases. When there are 5 or more adsalready on the user's community web pages and the user's HT space, thenit becomes very unattractive for advertisers to sponsor the user'sactivities because the advertisers' SponsorAds may be buried andrequires viewers to page down or click next page to see the SponsorAds.Therefore, the score for such scenario is assigned a 0. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the scores indicated in 4002 for factor F3and factor F4 are for reference only, actual scores can be assignedbased on market research and data analyses.

Factor F5 (level of activeness) and factor F6 (level of prior purchasingactivities) in 4002 can be in the range from 0 to 100. For factor F5,any activities the user performs in HotTerrain and sister webs willincrease the score, such as accessing the account, using differentfeatures, clicking functional buttons or links, printing things, buyingthings, donating things, etc. Each activity can be assigned a certainweight and the system automatically determines the user's level ofactiveness from a range of 0 to 100. For prior purchasing activities, arange of 0 to 100 can be assigned based on the total dollar amountspent. For example, a user gets 100 points if he has already spent$10,000 or more through HotTerrain.

Area 4003 demonstrates the calculation of HT scores for user A and userB. The calculation is executed based on the weights, formulas and methoddisclosed in area 4001 and 4002. User A receives a total score of 58.75and user B receives 57.75. Advertisers can set their requirements forsponsorship when they set up their SponsorAds in HotTerrain, such as aminimum HT score of 50 or 55 is required for sponsorship. Suchrequirements can be changed by the advertisers at any time based on therequests for their sponsorships. In this particular example, both User Aand User B are qualified for the sponsorship if they solicit or requestit from the Advertisers. Their sponsorship includes incentives that theadvertisers provide in the SponsorAd, such as free HT Money, e-Savers,Gift Certificates, Merchandise, etc.

With reference now to FIG. 41, therein is presented an exemplary diagramillustrating an exemplary calculation of advertisers' real Return OnInvestment (ROI) that is based on sales generated from the onlineadvertisements, rather than on clicks and/or impressions. Our inventionof the SponsorAd model calculates ROI based on dollars of salesgenerated per dollar of advertisement. Currently, the ratio of clicksper thousand impressions is relatively low because most users ignoreonline advertisements. Even among the clicks received for a particularadvertisement, the clicks that lead to a successful sale is much lowerwhen compared to the number of clicks received. The current calculationof ROI in prior arts that is based on the online advertisement actionsfrom users (e.g., clicks, impressions, etc) does not reflect the truepicture of the rate of return, as many, if not most of those actions, donot lead to purchasing activities.

Several ways of calculating ROI relating to sales generated from onlineadvertisements are disclosed herewith. At any point of time, datarelated to the amount of successful sales generated from onlineadvertisement and an advertiser's cost for a particular advertisement isobtainable from the online e-commerce and networking system. As shown on4101, some key factors leading to successful purchases on websitesinclude but are not limited to clicks, impressions, notification(through email, blog, announcement, etc), and subscription (user may beenticed to purchase a product listed in the online subscriptioncontents). Weight for each factor is assigned as reference in 4101.

ROI can be represented as Dollar Amount of Successful Sales divided byOnline Advertisement Cost (OAC) as indicated in 4102. The OAC can becalculated in several ways as shown in 4102. One way is used when theadvertiser chooses to pay for online advertisements based on Na (numberof clicks), Ra (rate/bidding price per click), Nb (number of 1000impressions), Rb (rate/bidding price per thousand impressions), Ni(number of other actions), Ri (rate/bidding price per other action).Another way is used when the advertiser chooses to pay a fixed onlineadvertisement fee. As indicated, advertisers can set their minimumacceptable ROI as greater than 1 because that means the real return onper dollar online advertisement is greater than 1 dollar.

Our present invention also provides other metrics, including, but notlimited to number of successful purchases per advertisement dollar(NPA), dollar amount of successful purchases per advertisement dollar(DPA), number of purchases per click (NPC), number of purchases perthousand impressions (NPI), dollar of successful purchases per click(DPC), dollar of successful purchases per thousand impressions (DPI),etc. The formulae for calculating these ratios are demonstrated in 4102.

We claim:
 1. A service computer system, including RAM memory configuredto run application programs, said system comprising: at least oneprocessing unit; at least one input device connected to said processingunit; at least one display device connected to said processing unit; atleast one database connected to said processing unit; at least onecommunication link connected to the Internet; said processing unit,responsive to instructions from said service computer system for a)transforming scattered business application processing capabilities oforganizations into centralized processing capabilities for Internetusers, and configured to execute at least one of: means for providing anaccount associated with a user to access external web applicationsthrough single-sign-on (S SO) technologies from said service computersystem without logging into said external web applications, wherein saidexternal websites include but not limited to online banking, investment,payroll, expense, loan, administration, office applications, and thelike; means for automatically transferring financial data of said userstored in databases associated with said external web applications andbusiness systems into said account associated with said user on saidservice computer system via real-time or scheduled interface scripts;means for said online expense application of said service computersystem to automatically interface with external participating point ofsale (POS) systems of entities in real-time to automatically obtaine-receipts residing in said external point of sale systems via real-timeinterface scripts; means for said account associated with said user toauthorize an accountant to log on to said service computer system toobtain said user's centralized financial data for tax preparation; meansfor automatically transferring said user's centralized financial datagathered on said service computer system to said user's accounting firmfor tax preparation; and means for said online expense application ofsaid service computer system to interface with said external POS systemsof participating physical stores in real-time to automatically processdigital money payment(s) at a physical POS store upon said user enteringUID and password or scanning identification mark of said user accountassociated with said service computer system into said external POSsystem of said physical store, wherein said digital money is residing inan online Money application of said service computer system; saidprocessing unit, responsive to instructions from said computer systemfor b) integrating entity processes to meet various entities'operational needs, and configured to execute at least one of: means forautomatically connecting external computer applications with saidservice computer system through SSO, real-time or scheduled interfacetechnologies, wherein an account associated with an entity is configuredto access external computer applications through SSO without logginginto said external computer applications; means for said accountassociated with said entity to conduct POS activities through saidonline expense application of said service computer system, wherein saidentity is an organization or an individual selling things; means forsaid account associated with said entity to create e-logs withaccountability digital signoffs, wherein said e-logs include but notlimited to training attendant rosters, passenger pick-up logs, computeroperation daily checklists, security event weekly review logs, generalledger reconciliation logs, ATM daily balancing logs, and the like;means for said account associated with said entity to centrally managee-savers, e-contracts/agreements to replace manual processes ofcollecting and reconciling physical e-savers, and of physically signingcontracts/agreements; and means for automatically tracking and analyzingworkflows of office documents to report white-collar workers'productivity and related issues.
 2. The service computer system of claim1, wherein online expense application of said service computer systemfurther comprising at least one of: means for said account associatedwith said user to receive digital receipts and bills from issuers and toshow details of each receipt and bill, and running totals of saidreceipts and bills; means for said account associated with said user todisplay and print virtual receipts, bills and related reports; means forsaid account associated with said user to manage expenses by setting andmonitoring budget(s); means for said account associated with said userto request sponsorship for purchasing things, obtaining certain expensereports, and the like; means for automatically creating said user's workaccount with said online expense application upon said user's creationof a personal account, or vice versa; and means for automaticallytransferring data from said user's work account on said online expenseapplication of said service computer system to said user's companyexpense system via real-time or scheduled interface scripts, whereinsaid company's expense system is automatically populated withtransferred data for said user's work related expense via runningreal-time or scheduled interface scripts.
 3. The service computer systemof claim 1, wherein said online expense application offering an accountassociated with an entity to conduct POS activities further comprisingat least one of: means for said account associated with said entity orissuer to create an e-receipt or e-invoice by inputting item data in ane-receipt or e-invoice template, wherein said e-receipt or e-invoicetemplate further including but not limited to said issuer's information,detailed item information, payment method, and total amount; means forsaid account associated with said issuer to customize e-receipts ore-invoices, wherein logos or designs are inserted; means for saidaccount associated with said issuer to send said e-receipt or e-invoiceto an account associated with a recipient by entering said recipient'saccount name on online expense application or said recipient's emailaddress with said service computer system; means for said accountassociated with said issuer to modify said e-receipt or e-invoice beforesending or to modify said recipient's returned e-receipt or e-invoice;means for said account associated with said issuer to display and printsaid e-receipt or e-invoice; means for said account associated with saidissuer to display and print a list of all e-receipts or e-invoicesissued, wherein said e-receipts and e-invoices are sorted by pre-setcriteria; means for said account associated with said issuer to displaysaid issuer's accumulated points; means for said account associated withsaid issuer to create databases, wherein said issuer's entityinformation and detailed goods and services information are pre-enteredfor future recurring usage; and means for said account associated withsaid issuer to request sponsorship for providing incentive to a buyer,e-receipt customization, obtaining related reports, and the like.
 4. Theservice computer system of claim 1, wherein said online expenseapplication further comprising at least one of: means for said onlineexpense application of said service computer system to automaticallysend a successful transmission message to said issuer's at least oneelectronic device or portable device immediately upon detecting saidaccount associated with said issuer on said online expense applicationsending a purchasing e-receipt to an account associated with a userafter conducting POS activities; means for said online expenseapplication of said service computer system to automatically offerfunctions for said account associated with said issuer to manageinvoices and inventory databases, generate various expense reports, andthe like; means for said online expense application of said servicecomputer system to instantly notify said user the arrival of saide-receipt or e-invoice on at least one electronic device of said userfor verification, wherein said device is any types of electronicdevices, such as personal computer, laptop, portable device and thelike; and means for said online expense application of said servicecomputer system to automatically offer functions for an accountassociated with an user on said service computer system to deleteunwanted e-receipts, print e-receipts or e-invoices, display a list ofall e-receipts, display customized e-receipt view, manage bills,generate expense related reports, and the like.
 5. The service computersystem of claim 1, wherein said online administration applicationfurther comprising at least one of: means for an account associated withan entity to create an e-log, wherein said online administrationapplication automatically populates relevant fields of said e-log withpre-entered entity data collected during account registration, andprovides functions for users of said e-log to automatically inserte-initials, e-signoffs or certified signatures; means for said accountassociated with said entity to create certified signatures uponconfirmation of identity from government or other agencies; means forsaid account associated with said entity to edit, display previewscreen(s), print said e-log, and display groups of e-logs by relevantsearch terms; means for said account associated with said entity tocreate, distribute and generate various reports related to e-savers,wherein said e-savers include but are not limited to discounts, giftcards, coupons, rebates, and rain checks; means said account associatedwith said entity to manage said e-savers to simplify said entity'saccounting processes over e-savers; means for said account associatedwith said entity to create e-contracts and e-agreements and generatevarious related reports, wherein said system provides functions forautomatically inserting certified signatures of the signing parties; andmeans for automatically auditing missing signoffs, initials, signatureson e-logs, e-contracts and e-agreements and providing audit results fortimely remediation.
 6. The service computer system of claim 1, whereinsaid online office applications further comprising all officeapplications including but not limited to Word Editor, Spreadsheet,Presentation, Flowchart, Graphics, and Project; and said online officeapplications further comprising at least one of: means for automaticallytracking office application document workflow through its life/workcycle, such as file in progress, file in review, file in modification,file in completion, file in evaluation, and the like; means for a userto customize said document workflow, and for seeking approval to go backto a prior life/work cycle stage of a document; means for a reviewer toapprove, reject, comment and evaluate a submitted document; means forsaid service computer system to automatically date/time stamp a documentat each point of its workflow life cycle events and to automaticallyrecord relevant digital signoffs; means for automatically calculatingproductivity metrics of office application document owners; and meansfor automatically generating productivity, work status and relatedissues reports on demand, wherein related issues include but are notlimited to idle time, bottlenecks, defective work, overdue work andre-do work.
 7. The service computer system of claim 1, wherein saidsystem is a new generation online e-commerce and networking system usingdifferent computer and human languages, and is presented on anyelectronic display devices, including a personal computer, laptop,portable device, and the like; and said system further comprising atleast one of: means for said account associated with said user or entityto access external websites through said websites' URLs by entering userIDs and passwords; and means for automatically factoring user activitydata of said external and internal web applications associated with saidaccount into user accumulated score calculation to change useraccumulated score associated with said user account.
 8. A method ofproviding external applications to Internet users and entities of anonline service computer system using local devices accessing said onlineservice computer system via at least one online service server, saidmethod for a) transforming scattered business application processingcapabilities of organizations into centralized processing capabilitiesfor Internet users, comprising at least one of: providing an accountassociated with a user to access external web applications throughsingle-sign-on (SSO) technologies from said service computer systemwithout logging into said external web applications, wherein saidexternal websites include but not limited to online banking, investment,payroll, expense, loan, administration, office applications, and thelike; automatically transferring financial data of said user stored indatabases associated with said external web applications and businesssystems into said account associated with said user on said servicecomputer system via real-time or scheduled interface scripts; providingfunctions for said online expense application of said service computersystem to automatically interface with external participating point ofsale (POS) systems of entities in real-time to automatically obtaine-receipts residing in said external point of sale systems via real-timeinterface scripts; providing functions for said account associated withsaid user to authorize an accountant to log on to said service computersystem to obtain said user's centralized financial data for taxpreparation; automatically transferring said user's centralizedfinancial data gathered on said service computer system to said user'saccounting firm for tax preparation; and providing functions for saidonline expense application of said service computer system to interfacewith said external POS systems of participating physical stores inreal-time to automatically process digital money payment(s) at aphysical POS store upon said user entering UID and password or scanningidentification mark of said user account associated with said servicecomputer system into said external POS system of said physical store,wherein said digital money is residing in an online Money application ofsaid service computer system; said method for b) integrating entityprocesses to meet various entities' operational needs, comprising atleast one of: automatically connecting external computer applicationswith said service computer system through SSO, real-time or scheduledinterface technologies, wherein an account associated with an entity isconfigured to access external computer applications through SSO withoutlogging into said external computer applications; providing functionsfor said account associated with said entity to conduct POS activitiesthrough said online expense application of said service computer system,wherein said entity is an organization or an individual selling things;providing functions for said account associated with said entity tocreate e-logs with accountability digital signoffs, wherein said e-logsinclude but not limited to training attendant rosters, passenger pick-uplogs, computer operation daily checklists, security event weekly reviewlogs, general ledger reconciliation logs, ATM daily balancing logs, andthe like; providing functions for said account associated with saidentity to centrally manage e-savers, e-contracts/agreements to replacemanual processes of collecting and reconciling physical e-savers, and ofphysically signing contracts/agreements; and automatically tracking andanalyzing workflows of office documents to report white-collar workers'productivity and related issues.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein saidonline expense application further comprising at least one of: providingfunctions for said account associated with said user to receive digitalreceipts and bills from issuers and to show details of each receipt andbill, and running totals of said receipts and bills; providing functionsfor said account associated with said user to display and print virtualreceipts, bills and related reports; providing functions for saidaccount associated with said user to manage expenses by setting andmonitoring budget(s); providing functions for said account associatedwith said user to request sponsorship for purchasing things, obtainingcertain expense reports, and the like; automatically creating saiduser's work account with said online expense application upon saiduser's creation of a personal account, or vice versa; and automaticallytransferring data from said user's work account on said online expenseapplication of said service computer system to said user's companyexpense system via real-time or scheduled interface scripts, whereinsaid company's expense system is automatically populated withtransferred data for said user's work related expense via runningreal-time or scheduled interface scripts.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein said online expense application offering an account associatedwith an entity to conduct POS activities further comprising at least oneof: providing functions for said account associated with said entity orissuer to create an e-receipt or e-invoice by inputting item data in ane-receipt or e-invoice template, wherein said e-receipt or e-invoicetemplate further including but not limited to said issuer's information,detailed item information, payment method, and total amount; providingfunctions for said account associated with said issuer to customizee-receipts or e-invoices, wherein logos or designs are inserted;providing functions for said account associated with said issuer to sendsaid e-receipt or e-invoice to an account associated with a recipient byentering said recipient's account name on online expense application orsaid recipient's email address with said service computer system;providing functions for said account associated with said issuer tomodify said e-receipt or e-invoice before sending or to modify saidrecipient's returned e-receipt or e-invoice; providing functions forsaid account associated with said issuer to display and print saide-receipt or e-invoice; providing functions for said account associatedwith said issuer to display and print a list of all e-receipts ore-invoices issued, wherein said e-receipts and e-invoices are sorted bypre-set criteria; providing functions for said account associated withsaid issuer to display said issuer's accumulated points; providingfunctions for said account associated with said issuer to createdatabases, wherein said issuer's entity information and detailed goodsand services information are pre-entered for future recurring usage; andproviding functions for said account associated with said issuer torequest sponsorship for providing incentive to a buyer, e-receiptcustomization, obtaining related reports, and the like.
 11. The methodof claim 8, wherein said online expense application further comprisingat least one of: providing functions for said online expense applicationof said service computer system to automatically send a successfultransmission message to said issuer's at least one electronic device orportable device immediately upon detecting said account associated withsaid issuer on said online expense application sending a purchasinge-receipt to an account associated with a user after conducting POSactivities; providing functions for said online expense application ofsaid service computer system to automatically offer functions for saidaccount associated with said issuer to manage invoices and inventorydatabases, generate various expense reports, and the like; providingfunctions for said online expense application of said service computersystem to instantly notify said user the arrival of said e-receipt ore-invoice on at least one electronic device of said user forverification, wherein said device is any types of electronic devices,such as personal computer, laptop, portable device and the like; andproviding functions for said online expense application of said servicecomputer system to automatically offer functions for an accountassociated with an user on said service computer system to deleteunwanted e-receipts, print e-receipts or e-invoices, display a list ofall e-receipts, display customized e-receipt view, manage bills,generate expense related reports, and the like.
 12. The method of claim8, wherein said online administration application further comprising atleast one of: providing functions for an account associated with anentity to create an e-log, wherein said online administrationapplication automatically populates relevant fields of said e-log withpre-entered entity data collected during account registration, andprovides functions for users of said e-log to automatically inserte-initials, e-signoffs or certified signatures; providing functions forsaid account associated with said entity to create certified signaturesupon confirmation of identity from government or other agencies;providing functions for said account associated with said entity toedit, display preview screen(s), print said e-log, and display groups ofe-logs by relevant search terms; providing functions for said accountassociated with said entity to create, distribute and generate variousreports related to e-savers, wherein said e-savers include but are notlimited to discounts, gift cards, coupons, rebates, and rain checks;providing functions said account associated with said entity to managesaid e-savers to simplify said entity's accounting processes overe-savers; providing functions for said account associated with saidentity to create e-contracts and e-agreements and generate variousrelated reports, wherein said system provides functions forautomatically inserting certified signatures of the signing parties; andautomatically auditing missing signoffs, initials, signatures on e-logs,e-contracts and e-agreements and providing audit results for timelyremediation.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein said online officeapplications further comprising all office applications including butnot limited to Word Editor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Flowchart,Graphics, and Project; and said online office applications furthercomprising at least one of: automatically tracking office applicationdocument workflow through its life/work cycle, such as file in progress,file in review, file in modification, file in completion, file inevaluation, and the like; providing functions for a user to customizesaid document workflow, and for seeking approval to go back to a priorlife/work cycle stage of a document; providing functions for a reviewerto approve, reject, comment and evaluate a submitted document; providingfunctions for said service computer system to automatically date/timestamp a document at each point of its workflow life cycle events and toautomatically record relevant digital signoffs; automaticallycalculating productivity metrics of office application document owners;and automatically generating productivity, work status and relatedissues reports on demand, wherein related issues include but are notlimited to idle time, bottlenecks, defective work, overdue work andre-do work.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein said service computersystem is a new generation online e-commerce and networking system usingdifferent computer and human languages, and is presented on anyelectronic display devices, including a personal computer, laptop,portable device, and the like; and said method further comprising atleast one of: providing functions for said account associated with saiduser or entity to access external websites through said websites' URLsby entering user IDs and passwords; and automatically factoring useractivity data of said external and internal web applications associatedwith said account into user accumulated score calculation to change useraccumulated score associated with said user account.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions for a) transforming scattered businessapplication processing capabilities of organizations into centralizedprocessing capabilities for Internet users, comprising at least one of:providing an account associated with a user to access external webapplications through single-sign-on (SSO) technologies from said servicecomputer system without logging into said external web applications,wherein said external websites include but not limited to onlinebanking, investment, payroll, expense, loan, administration, officeapplications, and the like; automatically transferring financial data ofsaid user stored in databases associated with said external webapplications and business systems into said account associated with saiduser on said service computer system via real-time or scheduledinterface scripts; providing functions for said online expenseapplication of said service computer system to automatically interfacewith external participating point of sale (POS) systems of entities inreal-time to automatically obtain e-receipts residing in said externalpoint of sale systems via real-time interface scripts; providingfunctions for said account associated with said user to authorize anaccountant to log on to said service computer system to obtain saiduser's centralized financial data for tax preparation; automaticallytransferring said user's centralized financial data gathered on saidservice computer system to said user's accounting firm for taxpreparation; and providing functions for said online expense applicationof said service computer system to interface with said external POSsystems of participating physical stores in real-time to automaticallyprocess digital money payment(s) at a physical POS store upon said userentering UID and password or scanning identification mark of said useraccount associated with said service computer system into said externalPOS system of said physical store, wherein said digital money isresiding in an online Money application of said service computer system;said non-transitory computer readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions for b) integrating entity processes tomeet various entities' operational needs, comprising at least one of:automatically connecting external computer applications with saidservice computer system through SSO, real-time or scheduled interfacetechnologies, wherein an account associated with an entity is configuredto access external computer applications through SSO without logginginto said external computer applications; providing functions for saidaccount associated with said entity to conduct POS activities throughsaid online expense application of said service computer system, whereinsaid entity is an organization or an individual selling things;providing functions for said account associated with said entity tocreate e-logs with accountability digital signoffs, wherein said e-logsinclude but not limited to training attendant rosters, passenger pick-uplogs, computer operation daily checklists, security event weekly reviewlogs, general ledger reconciliation logs, ATM daily balancing logs, andthe like; providing functions for said account associated with saidentity to centrally manage e-savers, e-contracts/agreements to replacemanual processes of collecting and reconciling physical e-savers, and ofphysically signing contracts/agreements; and automatically tracking andanalyzing workflows of office documents to report white-collar workers'productivity and related issues.
 16. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein said online expense application further comprising atleast one of: providing functions for said account associated with saiduser to receive digital receipts and bills from issuers and to showdetails of each receipt and bill, and running totals of said receiptsand bills; providing functions for said account associated with saiduser to display and print virtual receipts, bills and related reports;providing functions for said account associated with said user to manageexpenses by setting and monitoring budget(s); providing functions forsaid account associated with said user to request sponsorship forpurchasing things, obtaining certain expense reports, and the like;automatically creating said user's work account with said online expenseapplication upon said user's creation of a personal account, or viceversa; and automatically transferring data from said user's work accounton said online expense application of said service computer system tosaid user's company expense system via real-time or scheduled interfacescripts, wherein said company's expense system is automaticallypopulated with transferred data for said user's work related expense viarunning real-time or scheduled interface scripts.
 17. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said online expenseapplication offering an account associated with an entity to conduct POSactivities further comprising at least one of: providing functions forsaid account associated with said entity or issuer to create ane-receipt or e-invoice by inputting item data in an e-receipt ore-invoice template, wherein said e-receipt or e-invoice template furtherincluding but not limited to said issuer's information, detailed iteminformation, payment method, and total amount; providing functions forsaid account associated with said issuer to customize e-receipts ore-invoices, wherein logos or designs are inserted; providing functionsfor said account associated with said issuer to send said e-receipt ore-invoice to an account associated with a recipient by entering saidrecipient's account name on online expense application or saidrecipient's email address with said service computer system; providingfunctions for said account associated with said issuer to modify saide-receipt or e-invoice before sending or to modify said recipient'sreturned e-receipt or e-invoice; providing functions for said accountassociated with said issuer to display and print said e-receipt ore-invoice; providing functions for said account associated with saidissuer to display and print a list of all e-receipts or e-invoicesissued, wherein said e-receipts and e-invoices are sorted by pre-setcriteria; providing functions for said account associated with saidissuer to display said issuer's accumulated points; providing functionsfor said account associated with said issuer to create databases,wherein said issuer's entity information and detailed goods and servicesinformation are pre-entered for future recurring usage; and providingfunctions for said account associated with said issuer to requestsponsorship for providing incentive to a buyer, e-receipt customization,obtaining related reports, and the like.
 18. The computer-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein said online expense application furthercomprising at least one of: providing functions for said online expenseapplication of said service computer system to automatically send asuccessful transmission message to said issuer's at least one electronicdevice or portable device immediately upon detecting said accountassociated with said issuer on said online expense application sending apurchasing e-receipt to an account associated with a user afterconducting POS activities; providing functions for said online expenseapplication of said service computer system to automatically offerfunctions for said account associated with said issuer to manageinvoices and inventory databases, generate various expense reports, andthe like; providing functions for said online expense application ofsaid service computer system to instantly notify said user the arrivalof said e-receipt or e-invoice on at least one electronic device of saiduser for verification, wherein said device is any types of electronicdevices, such as personal computer, laptop, portable device and thelike; and providing functions for said online expense application ofsaid service computer system to automatically offer functions for anaccount associated with an user on said service computer system todelete unwanted e-receipts, print e-receipts or e-invoices, display alist of all e-receipts, display customized e-receipt view, manage bills,generate expense related reports, and the like.
 19. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said online administrationapplication further comprising at least one of: providing functions foran account associated with an entity to create an e-log, wherein saidonline administration application automatically populates relevantfields of said e-log with pre-entered entity data collected duringaccount registration, and provides functions for users of said e-log toautomatically insert e-initials, e-signoffs or certified signatures;providing functions for said account associated with said entity tocreate certified signatures upon confirmation of identity fromgovernment or other agencies; providing functions for said accountassociated with said entity to edit, display preview screen(s), printsaid e-log, and display groups of e-logs by relevant search terms;providing functions for said account associated with said entity tocreate, distribute and generate various reports related to e-savers,wherein said e-savers include but are not limited to discounts, giftcards, coupons, rebates, and rain checks; providing functions saidaccount associated with said entity to manage said e-savers to simplifysaid entity's accounting processes over e-savers; providing functionsfor said account associated with said entity to create e-contracts ande-agreements and generate various related reports, wherein said systemprovides functions for automatically inserting certified signatures ofthe signing parties; and automatically auditing missing signoffs,initials, signatures on e-logs, e-contracts and e-agreements andproviding audit results for timely remediation.
 20. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said online officeapplications further comprising all office applications including butnot limited to Word Editor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Flowchart,Graphics, and Project; and said online office applications furthercomprising at least one of: automatically tracking office applicationdocument workflow through its life/work cycle, such as file in progress,file in review, file in modification, file in completion, file inevaluation, and the like; providing functions for a user to customizesaid document workflow, and for seeking approval to go back to a priorlife/work cycle stage of a document; providing functions for a reviewerto approve, reject, comment and evaluate a submitted document; providingfunctions for said service computer system to automatically date/timestamp a document at each point of its workflow life cycle events and toautomatically record relevant digital signoffs; automaticallycalculating productivity metrics of office application document owners;and automatically generating productivity, work status and relatedissues reports on demand, wherein related issues include but are notlimited to idle time, bottlenecks, defective work, overdue work andre-do work.
 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein saidservice computer system is a new generation online e-commerce andnetworking system using different computer and human languages, and ispresented on any electronic display devices, including a personalcomputer, laptop, portable device, and the like; and saidcomputer-readable medium further comprising at least one of: means forsaid account associated with said user or entity to access externalwebsites through said websites' URLs by entering user IDs and passwords;and means for automatically factoring user activity data of saidexternal and internal web applications associated with said account intouser accumulated score calculation to change user accumulated scoreassociated with said user account.